EDITORIAL Condom ads react to growing AIDS threat Next time you sit back in your favorite arm chair, kick up your foot anti turn on your TV. stay tuned for the com mercials. A new federal campaign is being aired in an attempt to persuade viewers to practice safe sex with latex condoms or else practice abstinence. This type of TV ad is the first in a bold media campaign of its kind. The Reagan administration drew the line on promoting condoms with a man slowly pulling a s<x;k on and leaving tin* viewer to figure out the rest. (Obviously that wasn't too effective.) The Clinton administration, taking a more liberal role, sponsored the ads in hopes of addressing the issue in a more direct way They seem to have done an effective Job witli the clever 30-s«cond spots. As tin* deadly AIDS virus spreads and continues to he incurable, it seems the time has i ome to latim h a cam paign of this magnitude. Although it is incurable, it is easily preventable, and those new ads address just that point. Of course there will (k\ as usual, the offended peo ple watching a condom fh across a room splitting (lie sheets of a not-so-stcamy sex scene, but maybe it is time to offend someone. It is. without a doubt, time to do some thine. This first stop is <r good one, but another step and anoth er after that needs to be taken as well. People have been bombarded with HIV prevention, so much so that they are nearly turning the other way. These new condom cam paigns reinforce the simplicity of prevention, as well as increase awareness. Critics have noted that the campaign fails to address the majority of the people that are infected with the HIV virus, male homosexuals. However, the new' ads never roally use the gender of the people as a factor. Regardless of whether they do or not. the point is irrelevant — the message is prevention. Condoms, when used correctly, or abstinence, help prevent the spread of the HIV virus. The issue of abstinence was encouraged mainly by the networks themselves, fair enough and important enough as well. This just adds to the effectiveness of the cam paign by reinforcing the benefits of abstinence that seem to be easily overlooked in this day and age. The campaign was designed to target people between the ages of 18 to 24. This is a good place to start, but a second step needs to focus on those who are oven younger. Younger people have contracted the HIV disease not even knowing what it is or let alone how to prevent it. A well-designed educational process enlightening the youth as to the mechanics of the disease and the ease of prevention would benefit everyone. Since this obvious ly isn’t happening in the home, it needs to bo done else where, and the best option is in the schools. It seems like a waste of time to educate the youth of this country but leave out the education of a life-threatening disease. The clever ads that will air soon are a beneficial step in tlio fight to eliminate the HIV virus Until a cure is found, steps have to continue in the direction of pre vention. A 30-second TV commercial may seem like a small step compared to the realm of the battle, but it is a step, and another must follow. Emerald oo aoi3ih.tuotm.omoaiww V <■ >>*;. • , .1 , t ’>►•',1 - • , .!>• Sh»*J ;Siiiiy M !.t, ’* ^ .c«4^ and Tuesday and Th0-sjay dunng the summer by the Oregun Co jit o! Ore^n f i^gene Oregon The Jmeraic? operates i«Jopo''dent'y of She University *lth t>ff«es a? 4 t ft Ur.;,;- and ts a member o< t»»« Asvcv-aind Press. The £ "'<*'■>*3 s [ ' •a’c properly The .»*■*.. 'em ..i or . •*• ;>t papms •; ; 00 by a* Managing Editor Editorial Editor Graphics Editor Freelance Editor Editor-ln*Ch»ef ;.*r tir<g v a cy An dor v Sports Editor DavwJ Thom Editorial Editor Jett Pasiay Photo Editor Jeff Winters Supplements Editor Night Editor: Dave Charbonneau Sieve Ki ■ Jeff PiCkhard? Anthony Forney Kay Soto Associate Editors: Edward kioplenstctn Student Government AcfrWnw Rebecca MeMfl Community. Jui»e Swensen. /Agher E<k*c*t><y\ A&y'trvstrMt*)n News Staff: Marxty BauCum Wilson Chan. Dave Charbonneou Jim D«iv v Meg Deoo*ph Amy Davenport. Cara Echevarna. Ma*a 1 *e*ds. Martm F.she*. Sarah Henderson, Heathen* Hone* Yin l eng leong. Manus Meiand, T»<sta No*. Elisabeth Reeostjama Kate Sabour.n, RoMve Reeves. lui SrSocoa. Scott Simonson. Stephan* Sisson Suaanne Steffens. Joi* Swonser Mcheie Thompson Agu«ar. Kevin Trtpp. Amy Van Tuyt. Darnel West General Manager Judy Rnx* Advertising Director Mart. Waiter Production Manager: M^NAe Rose Advertising: Sub* Dutta. Ncoie Herrmar* Teresa tsabeUe Jeff Manon. Jeremy Mason Mkhaei MiMette. Van V O'Bryan II. Rachael Tru«. Kelsey We*eit. Ange Wmdh^m Classified: Hec*y Merchant. Manager Victor Me,.a. Sim Tre Tec* Distribution Andy Harvey John Long. Graham Simpson Business: Kathy Carbone Supervisor Axty Connolly Production Dee MeCobtv ProdUcton CocvcAna/tv Shawna Ape*e Greg Desmond. Tara Gauftney. Brad Joss Jenn ier Ftoiand. Natt Thangv.yt. Dayton Yee Newsroom . 346-5511 Display Advertising .346-3712 Business Office . 346-5512 Classified Advertising— 546-4343 c 54K rv« StMtm# **\/T ' OPINION Not all forms of life are equal Dank Thorn Every morning, us I walk across the Bean Complex parking lot on my way to < lass. I pass a van whose bumper proudly declares that "All forms of life are equal " No matter how many times 1 read it. it never fails to make me snick er. Now I'm aware that the entire env i momenta list/consorvat ion ist paradigm cannot hope to be i aptiired on a single bumper sticker, but even if I bad to listen to on hour's worth of arguments, I doubt I could ever be con vim ed that all forms of life are equal It's a very green way of looking at things, hut it |ust doesn't hold up to itnv serious si rutlnv f irst of all. if all life were equal, then I would be a mur derer millions of times over. I've killed enough microscopic life forms since I got up this morn ing eating breakfast using antiseptic mouthwash, walking across the gross to deserve the electric chair Vet no one seri ously thinks I should he pun ished for these heinous c rimes Why? He< nuse no one really thinks all forms of life are equal. Environmentalists have an easier time convincing people not to kill bigger creatures. My question is. where (and for what reasons) do you draw the line? If it's OK to kill little things, like microorganisms and mosqui toes, then why isn’t it OK to kill a deter or a dog or even a whale? We value larger animals over smaller because we recognize that not all forms of life are equal (and because the larger animals are more likely to be immortalized as Disney charac tors) If we t an agree that some animals an- superior (read: more valuable) than others, why can't we similarly admit that humans are superior to animals? I have to admit that I am shamelessly pro-human; if 1 have to i house between one human life and a million single celled amoobns, I'll choose the human every day of the week. But even when the st ales are more balant ed — say. between a human and a dolphin, for instance — it’s still easy for me to sav "bet Flipper die!" Kvon the most impressive non humans on earth are still not a match for their homo sapien counterparts One reason is intelligence. Zoologists have vet to determine conclusively whether animals understand "cause and effect" or to what extent they can com municate with each other through language But the answers to these questions don’t make any difference when it comes to e\ alnating the supori orit\ of humans to animals It’s the applit ation of intelligent e that makes humans special Suppose dolphins have equal intelligence to humans, but just don't bother to list* it They just swim around in the sou. think ing deep thoughts, hut never apply their intelligence or knowledge toward anything but the basics food, companionship and sleep (do dolphins sleep?) Even if dolphins have such intelligence (which 1 seriously doubt), they still would come up short in a mati hup with human ity, because they don't apply the intelligence that they have at their disposal. In essence, humans are better manipulators of their environ ment A pot-l>ellied pig couldn't have planned the Apollo mis sions; no orca whale could have discovered a cure for polio. Humans are smarter than ani mals — pure and simple. But there's more to this dis cussion than just intelligence. There are other characteristics ...humans are better manipulators of their environment. that set humans apart from all other creatures. One of the most convincing of these characteris tics is embodied in the conser vationist movement itself. What are the messages of this movement? In essence, environ mentalists and conservationists want to shape human behavior — make us kill only when nec essary. use only what we need, conserve natural resources and ' preserve endangered species. They want us to "Save the Plan et." Like most other rational »* people. I think that saving the planet is a very good idea. Hut in asking us to practice conservation, environmentalists are asking humans to suspend their natural animal instincts No other animal is expected to curb its consumption in order to save the planet; animals, left by themselves, will eat entire species into oblivion, and not feel a shred of remorse II the\ are capable of destroying the environment, they probably will And no one would consid er it "immoral." If it were humans doing the destroying, however, it would he a whole different story. Environmentalists expect humans to behave differently than animals. The very fact that they make such a demand proves that they believe humans to lie different than animals. Only humans possess the power to destroy — or save — the environment, and the con science to choose between the two alternatives. That character istic. along with a litany of oth ers. is what makes humans — in spite of all our faults — superior to all other forms of life. David Thorn is an editorial editor for the Emerald.