EDITORIAL
Its no surprise that
Collins Puente’s tired
The seemingly sudden resignation of ASUO Vice Pres
ident Diana Collins Puente last week offered an oppor
tunity for many non-traditional student leaden to voice
their frustrations at a campus environment that they per
ceive as hostile to minorities and women.
During her resignation news conference very little
explanation was given for Collins Puente’s decision,
except the repeated assertion that the University wasn't
doing enough to combat institutionalized racism and
support non-traditional students, loosely defined as stu
dents of color, lesbians, gays, bisexuals and women.
In her emotional farewell, Collins Puente told her
audience that she was 'tired." After spending five years
at the University as one of its most dynamic and vocal
student leaders, there’s no reason to doubt that she’s
tirod.
She has additional reasons to leave her position and
the University, however - among them, two internships
waiting for her in Washington. D C.
Hut even if she were leaving just because she’s tired, it
would still bo unfair to blame her exhaustion and frus
(ration solely on the unresponsiveness of the University.
Collins Puente must bear some responsibility for those
things herself.
"1 came on this campus with the intent to stay here
in Oregon, which is 90 percent white," Collins Puente
said, "to achieve change, to better the lifestyle and the
educational system and the justice system for people of
color, for lesbians, gays and bisexuals, for women, and
for non-traditional students." (Emphasis added to the
"ands”)
No wonder shi> was tired
Kni ti and every one of those goals is noble, and worth
pursuing. Hut it the person trying to re.u h those goals
is unwilling to compromise, then nothing but frustration
and stalemate will result.
In response to past complaints that she should repre
sent the entire student body, instead of just its multicul
tural components. Collins Puente said that she would
"always he the multicultural advocate."
It's difficult for a person with strong convictions to try
to represent even side of every issue, but that is exai t
ly what Collins Puente agreed to do when she ran for
vice president of the ASUC). I he letters stand for Asso
ciated Students of the University of Oregon. That's till of
the students,
Collins Puente said people don't understand why she
can’t be "moderate." The answer is simple, because
compromise — being moderate — is part of the job.
Certainly racism and discrimination are problems on
this campus. But they're problems on every campus
everywhere. Collins Puente's panel of speakers includ
ed Rob Alvarez, a student from Rutgers University in
New Jersey, who testified to that very fact.
That's not an excuse. That doesn't mean that the Uni
versity should give up hope of one day having a peace
ful, tolerant and fully integrated campus. That doesn't
mean it should stop working toward that goal. But a res
ignation. no matter who it is from, does little to further
the cause.
Ori son Daily
PO DO* m* CUGf Nf 0*100*97403
I'w (Vegon Parfy f™»u .3 pubushod daily Monday thr -ugh I "day du'-ng inn schoo-'
yeai and Tuesday and Thursday doing I he kummei By me Oregon Daily f meia'd
PubAShmg Co.. Inc nl the University ol Oiy o Eugene Oregon
The ImerekJ operates independently ol me Univeiviy «nm o'" *14 at S I 300 ol me
Fib Memorial Union and i» a memoer ol me Associated Press
Ii>« I men*.! >s pnyate yvoperty The uniawlui removal c* use :*' pape*a 4 prOMKutati*
Editor-In-Chief. Jake Bceg
Calmy Anderson Sport* Ediloi Sieve Mena
David Thom Editorial Editor Jen Pvvhart*
Jen I’aalay Photo Edltoi Anthony Forney
jell Winters Supplement* Editor Kay Solo
Night Editor Jui-n Swensen
Associate Editors f dw.vd Kioplenstem Student Government Acl'Wicn Rebecca M.*"B
Community Juiw Seen sen JAgher Education Administration
News Staff: Mandy Baueum. Wilson Chan. Dave Chartxxmaau Jen Dads. Meg Dedoiyh
Amy Davenport Cara Lcnevarna. Mata I nets. Martin f inner, Sarah Henderson tleatherio
y*mes Yin leng leong Ma-ius Metand, Tnsta Noe. t htabem Reen»td*na. Kate Satou""
Uoroe Reeve* la Saocoa. Scott Simonson, Stephan* Sisson. Susanne Stehens. Jui*
Seenaen. Mchele Thompson Aguiar, Kevin Tnpp, Amy Van Tuyl. Daniel West
General Manager Judy R*d
Advertising Director Man Waite* Production Manager KAchow Ro*s
Advertising: Sutvr Dutta, Nicole Herrmars Teresa Isabelle. Jell Manon. Jeremy Mason
Michael Malone Van V O'Bryan II. Rachael Tru#. Ketsey Weceli Ang* Wmdheuti
Classified: Becky Merchant Manager Victor Meyus. S<m Tje Teck
Distribution: Andy Harvey. John long, Graham Simpson
SiiMnsss- Kathy Carbone Supervisor Judy Connolly
Production Dee McCoCO Production Coordnafo* Shawns Abe* Greg Desmond. Tara
GauMrwy. Brad Joss. Jenrvler Roland. Nall Thangvi|it. Clayton Yea
riiu.irpo-__.346-6611 Display Adverttelng.— NMT11
Mmm Office...3466613 Clsealflstl Advertlelng.M64MS
a-_-1-1 ---a-.. IM. «O (Odi
Managing Editcw
Editorial Editor
Graphic* Editor
Froaianca Editor
tv*—~
q>**
OLt> N^DONM.
$VM90L
0ALD EA6K
New Nkhonm.
$YMf)OL
<9UlNiA Plfe
OPINION
Do your part now to stop uua
r.._. in
Robbie Reeves
in* Oregon Citizens
Alliance is at it again. Nev
er heard ul the CX A lx*fore'
Well, welcome to Oregon, and
leave your indifference at the
state line
The OCA is a group of conser
vative Oregonians that insists on
making its narrow-minded reac
tionary views the law of the land
(or Oregon.
Oh. so I'm biased against them
Actually, it's pretty hard not to
Im*.
The (X’.A has several agendas,
sin h as the anti-abortion (anise
(it unsuccessfully tried to ban
abortion in 1990) However, the
(X iA is U*st known for its crusade
against rights for gays and les
bians in Oregon.
The group has campaigned for
several years against the cause of
gay rights In 1992. the group
sponsored the now-infamous Bal
lot Measure 9. w Inch would have
added to the Oregon Constitution
an amendment that would have
declared homosexuality "unnat
ural, abnormal, and perverse."
The measure failed by several
hundred thousand votes, but suc
ceeded in making Oregon look
like a place where bigotry was
tolerated by a lot of its citizens.
And so the OCA took its anti
gay rights initiative to other cities
and counties in Oregon, for the
most part in Eastern and South
ern Oregon, areas known to be
more i onseryative than places
like Eugene and Portland
Many of their efforts, includ
ing one in Springfield several
years back, have been successful,
and more elections are sched
uled.
However, the group has not
been able to muster the votes
statewide to pass a statewide
measure against gay rights.
Until possibly this November,
that is.
Tile CX'.A. along with similar
groups in Washington. Idaho and
several other states, is trying to
pass a measure that would pro
hibit gays and lesbians from
acquiring any sort of "special
rights."
Special rights, you might ask'
What are those?
Well, from reading in between
the lines, that can roughly be
interpreted us the right to not lie
discriminated against because
one is gay,
I don't know Maybe the (XiA
thinks that if everyone was legal
ly free from discrimination, then
maybe it couldn't discriminate
against people anymore with its
illogical and discriminatory bal
lot measures. (And wouldn't that
be a shame for the (X!A'|
The sad thing about the whole
situation is that, unlike the
garbage that the OCA likes to
throw around about gays "com
ing after your children" and the
like, gavs are not looking for "spe
cial rights.” but equal rights.
The CX'.A, in the true spirit of
friendship toward gays and les
bians (translated, in another wav
of showing their Neanderthal out
look on modern society ...),
recently established a group
called HOPE, which stands for
Help One Person Escape.
The group is designed to
"help" guys, lesbians and bisex
uals to "escape" from the lifestyle
that the CX1A believes is bad.
Various CX1A officials have also
boasted of taking gavs and les
bians into their homes, where
they invariably "renounce" the
gay lifestyle, convert to rabidly
conservative creatures both reli
giously and conservatively, and
begin to support the OCA
This goes to the crux of the
OCA s outlook on society. The
OC.A believes gays and lesbians
choose, incorrectly, to be gay.
whereas heterosexuals choose to
be that way.
1 have absolutely never heard
of a person that went home one
night, took out a piece of paper,
and listed the pros and cons of
being a particular sexual orien
tation. in an effort to decide
whether to be heterosexual or
homosexual.
Maybe the people in the OCA
do this, but ! doubt that anyone
else does. After all. does it really
take a college degree to figure out
that sexual orientation is not cho
sen like a major, but is a given
trait, such as one’s eye color?
And so the OCA continues to
spew its conservative rhetoric to
the state, a state where a signifi
cant minority of the citizens
apparently believe the OCA
enough to vote for its initiatives.
The fight for gay rights will
probably tx> coming back to a bal
lot box near you this November
The OCA group is currently in
the process of gathering signa
tures for the ballot initiative, start
ing in places such as Springfield
(a surprise?).
Please don't sign the petition.
It would be nice if things like
equality and human rights didn't
have to be voted on by people.
However, because we live in a
world that is far from ideal, one
has to concede that the OCA will
probably make it onto the ballot.
The OCA likes to prey on the
fears of the more impressionable
Oregonians. It is toward them
that the (XIA directs statements
about "militant homosexuals,"
trying to destroy such things as
sacred as family values and
America.
Don't believe it. The OCA
needs to create a climate of fear
m order to justify painting a pic
ture of gays and iesbians as some
sort of enemies of humanity.
With less than !0 months
remaining before the November
general election. Oregonians neod
to organize now to defeat this ini
tiative.
Many things can be done to
defeat this nonsense. Register to
vote here in Oregon, volunteer for
an anti-OCA organization, and
maybe oven donate money to the
cause.
But, above anything, don't be
indifferent. The OCA has cam
paigned against gay and abortion
rights. Next time, it could be you
and your rights that they could
be after.
Human rights for all is too
important a cause to leave to
chance.
Robbie Reeves is a columnist
for the Emerald.