EDITORIAL
University should try
to respect all faiths
The University will be more hospitable to religious
minorities in the future, if the Jewish Student Union can
persuade the University to adopt a new policy dealing
with non-Christian religious holidays
The JSU has made a proposal to the University, which,
if enacted, would allow members of religious minorities
to be excluded from certain academic responsibilities
that conflict with the observance of their more important
religious holidays.
Jewish students in particular have had difficulty work
ing their faith around the University's calendar. Fall
term final exams often occur during Uanukkah, forcing
Jewish students to cut short their celebrations or do
without them altogether. When the first week of classes
in a semester conflicts with a holiday, more strictly reli
gious students may be dropped from t lass rolls for not
showing up — oven though their faith forbids them from
going to class.
Very few University activities are scheduled for Sun
day, to accommodate those Christian students who cel
ebrate that day as the sabbath. For Jews, however, the
sabbath, or Shabbat. takes place every week from sun
down on Friday to sundown on Saturday — a common
time for the University to schedule activities
Although Jewish students are responsible for initiating
this proposal, they are not the only ones who stand to
gain from it. Even Christians who may follow a slightly
different < alendar, such as the Seventh Day Adventists,
would be helped by a University policy which allows
them to reschedule their academic responsibilities to
make room for religious ones.
It’s no accident that the University never schedules a
final exam on Christmas Day. and it isn't lut k that keeps
Sunday relatively free of required activities. The ac.ado
mil. calendar is a product of Christian tradition, oven
though it has since been secularized. (There’s no such
thing as Christmas break anymore, but. wouldn't you
know it. Christmas always seems to fall during the win
ter vacation. Go figure.)
The main objection the University has voiced about
the proposal is that it might be abused. Certainly, this
is possible. Some particularly unscrupulous student
might take unfair advantage of the now policy by false
ly claiming to be Jewish, or worse yet, by inventing some
screwball religion (maybe the Church of the Extended
Ski Weekend). But there are stops the University could
take to minimize this risk
First of all, the University could enforce a deadline for
students to ask for exemptions or schedule changes, per
haps by the third week of the term. This will prevent any
last-minute abuses and give professors plenty of time to
deal with the request.
Additionally, independent religious leaders from the
community should be consulted to determine which
holidays are really important and what the proper obser
vance of each holiday might entail.
With these precautions in place, it should be possible
for the University to respect the rights of students to
practice tiieir disparate faiths. Since students are paying
to attend, it's the least the University can do.
,,»„v Emerald
po oo« tucna out gw i;*xs
1 ’>o I D»!y l -”1*,K):« putivbed deify Monday through I «lay during inn achoo
year and Tuesday and Thursday during ms summer by me Oregon Oa > Emiva'd
Publishing Co . tnc al the Un,vervty ol Oregon. Eugene. Oregon
I be Jmew operates .ndependentty ot me University eeth ol Suae MO of die
[ ib Memorial Union and a a member ol tbe Associated Press
the Emerald <» private property Tbe unlandui removal ot use of papery i prover:,.nave
by ia»
Managing Editor
Editorial Editor
Graphic* Editor
Fraalanca Editor
Edllof-ln-Chm Ji»e Borg
Caflfy A.ndofiOf
David Thorn
JoH Putty
Jtf*i Wimers
Sports Editor
Editori*t Editor
Photo Editor
Supplements Edita
Ntgnt COMO*: u«vkj mom
S*»V«
J«f1 Ptcfcfwdl
M* ru*w Slvrvito
K«Jy Solo
Associate Editors, tdward Klopfanston. StMtonl Uovommpnt Acf»v»f>a* Mcv'm.
Community Ju>*e SwaAsan, High* EJuc*t*on< Administration
News Staff Madefy Baocum. F'»c Bucfchaite' Wilson Chan Dav« Chartoonnaau. Amy
Colombo J(f Oav.s Meg Dedolpf' Am, Oevwwn Cara Ecnevan*. Mala Fouls Martin
I .,inr S»an Honda*•o'’ tleal’ie"® dimes Yin tang leong Manus Merand Tnsta Noer.
1 iisabotn H<wnsl|wr.a. Robb.® Reeves. b» Sakinxia Scon Simonson Stephan* Sr saw
Susanne Slogans Ju*Ki Swan son Mchere Thompson Aguiar Kevin Tipp Am, Van Tuyl.
Darnel A«s!
Genera* Manager Judy Han!
Advertising Director Mars A aim Production Manager Mcheie (toss
Advertising Sut»r Dutu Nccxe Herjmars leresa IsabeKe Jen Man. Je-em, Mas
M. • ;kt Mii'-eTte Rachael Trull Kelsey A re I*r Ang* W-xmenr
Classified Betsy Merchant AAmagre Victor Mena. San ire Tecs
Distribution And, Harvey Jonn Long. Granam Simpson
Business. Kath, Carbone Suparv cv Jud, Connoa,
Production. Dee McCobb Producton CoorcSrianor Sneena Aoew Greg Desmond, lara
Gauitne, Brad .toss Stac, Mtchei: Jennifer Roland, Raft thangviit. Dayton Vee
Ntwtroom
34f5S11
346*5512
Dtsptsy Advertising
ClMUfUd Advertising MMW
r
WE ARC NOW QtOiNQ, To 'w€L/AQ£/ To £^0 THt PATTTQsj
rnm HU rtDTJ (uS?
of dependence and Foster self -reliance . run ye as. 7v£ /rev
rnT7 iTTsi rvITi rrm
/s WOftK.
n i »■>
M3UV MOW/VC, PEOPLE OFf lv£LPAft£ *oL<_S /A/FO JOffT.
rrm rtn>. (SB?
rtJOW. fAEMlI/XJUL JOBS UNLUCZ B£foA£. fiitHTA,UAV. TWS 7)M6 foA SoX?£...
run fTLD /iCi ftED
It’s time to end Welfare Preform as we.know it.
■ *7tU <•*<-£)
IT’S BfOOMt
A WAV Of U?f ~~i
lJ
OPINION
USSA needs to take responsibility
Robbik RhU>
Hang up the phone, and
cancel the arrangements
for the conventions
It's tune for the University
branch of the United States Stu
dent Association to he more
accountable for its spending
Ac ‘ ording to a rei ent art ic le
in the ()regon Commentator, the
USSA has freon given almost
Slti.out) in iiu idental fees for the
1993-94 sc hool year (Actually,
it originally received $10,000.
but the Incidental Fee Commit
tee gave it another $5,800 in a
spec ial request in October) But
what has the USSA done with
this money? According to finan
cial records, it tins spent all but
about $3,000 ot it. |ust more
than halfway through tin* year
It's true that the money was
appropriated to be spent, but the
expenditures tell an interesting
story
USSA tins managed to spend
5700 on long-distance phone
calls, about $500 more than it
should have.
Among this total are several
five-hour phone calls made by
former ASUO Vice President
Diana Collins Puente While no
one is really sure whether these
calls were of a business nature
(they were made to Michigan,
where she allegedly has a
boyfriend, but don't assume
anything). Collins Puente
should be congratulated for her
stamina After all. not everyone
c an talk, on the phone that long
It must have lieen an interesting
conversation
I don't want to pic k on Collins
Puente She is not the only per
son responsible for the large
phone bill Another USSA mem
ber has already reimbursed the
A SI'() for long distance person
al calls made on Ins USSA long
distance account
I know, communication with
others is an important part of
running a group on campus, and
the telephone is one wo\ to do
it However, may I suggest an
alternative?
The U S Postal Service has
this thing called a stamp, which
can bo put on a letter, and they
will deliver it anywhere in the
nation The best part is that it
costs only 20 cents per letter!
If only all of life could Ik* this
simple
The USSA has apparently also
spent thousands of dollars on
conventions I would imagine
that it would lie a pretty ground
breaking < onvention to have pis
tified spending a good chunk of
the budget on it Maybe it could
be worse We could all he pay
ing to send USSA mem tiers to a
monthlong convention in Tahi
ti this summer, 1 suppose.
Maybe I am misunderstanding
the concept of a student organi
zation I've always believed that
an organization that is funded
In student fees should somehow
contribute something back to the
student bod) Maybe a speaker
here, a program there, but some
thing from the group that could
possibly justify the expenditure
of scarce funds.
instead, the USSA is spending
(or. more specifically, over
spending) its budget by talking
on the phone and going to con
ventions.
This might be a group that I'd
like to join Imagine — your
phone bill covered by student
fees (as long as you hush up the
fact that the calls are personal)
and being able to go to a few
con vent ions. 1 wonder why the
University branch of USSA
doesn't have thousands of mem
bers.
The USSA seems to have lost
grasp of a fairly fundamental
economic concept It’s called a
budget
If a group is appropriated
$200 for long distance calls, it
shouldn't spend $700, or even
$201 for tin- phono bill. The
group should spend no more
than $200. If, however, more
money needs to be spent (and
granted, we can all probably
relate to a time when our phone
bill was $500 more than usual),
why can't the members of the
group chip in a little something
to cover the cost ol the differ
ence (or, for those of us without
connections, what would nor
mally be called “overdrawing an
account")?
Belter the people that make
the calls pay rather than the
entire student bodv
The remaining $3,000 of mon
ey that the USSA has was frozen
bv the ASUO finance coordina
tor last week, in a long overdue
move.
If anything good comes out of
this, it would hopefully be that
student groups should be more
aware of the fact that they are
not just spending money given
to them by the University, hut
money given to them by the stu
dents of the University. And
while 1 am cognizant of the fact
that student fees pay fur many
good things here on campus
(and that funding I have no
quarrel with), I have better
things to spend my money on
than five hour phone calls from
a group that goes to conventions
but doesn't do a lot around um
pus
I’m singling out the USSA
now, but I'm sure that there are
other examples of misuse of stu
dent funds around campus It
might be even worse than this.
The point of this column isn't
to put down the USSA. I'm sure
that there are many people who
belong to the organization
because they truly believe in
what the USSA stands for. My
point is that the financial orga
nization of the USSA is shoddy
at best, and there definitely
needs to bo changes if the USSA
even wants to be considered in
getting funding again next year.
After all, it is our money.
Hobbit1 Reeves is a columnist
for the Emerald.