EDITORIAL
'Insurgent’ in need
of liberal support
This t nivorsilv has ;i reputation, Eugene has a repu
tation.. even Oregou has a reputation. And it's the same
reputation in every < ase.
Liberal. Progressive. Leftist.
This particular political bent goes by many names, but
whatever you call it. this campus is widely regarded to
be its headquarters Although there are always a few
pockets of conservatism to be found, the general con
sensus is that this is a liberal campus in a liberal < it\ in
a liberal state.
Why, then, does the self-proclaimed "liberal, leftist
voice" on this campus have so little to say.'
The Student Insurgent, a campus public ation with a
det idedlv leftward bent, has been taking a lot of heat
lately. Although many of the critic isms are deserved,
there is another side to the stor\
"ft takes an incredible amount of time to put together
a newspaper, ospm ially in the format the Insurgent
uses," Jung said in a Feb. 12 editorial responding to crit
ic isms that have been leveled against the Insurgent
"Needless to sa\. the energies of three staff members
were not enough
below these words was a cartoon crying. "Submit!
Please, the Insurgent needs your submissions!"
On a c ampus renowned lor being liberal, people
should be lining up to contribute to the "liberal, ielt
ist " voice on campus Three staff members I Where is
everyone7 The Oregon Commentator, the Insurgent's
conservative nemesis, boasts a staff ten times as large,
flow could this happen7 Where are the liberals7
I tiny re certainty not writing mr um insurgent
A quick glam n at the bank of free publications in the
l-.M11 reveals plont\ of .somewhat liberal newsletters and
newspapers, all apparently prospering. The Emerald
editorial pages are frequently filled with letters to tin*
editor and other commentaries that are liberal in slant.
Clearly, liberal thinkers are still around on this campus,
and a number of them are more than willing to put pen
to paper. So why won't they do it for the Insurgent'
Maybe liberals are unwilling to join "the establish
ment” of a big-time (on campus, anyway) newspaper.
Hut the Insurgent is a far cry from the establishment.
They can’t even seem to establish a uniform typeface for
their pages.
More likely, those individuals who would normally
tend to support the Insurgent have simply given up on
it. Its erratic publication schedule, appalling visual
design and poorly written copy all combine to make
reading the insurgent a frustrating experience, even for
those who would embrace the paper’s politic s.
And that is a shame. In order for a worthwhile and
balaiu ed exchange of ideas to take place on this i ampus.
the l iniversity needs an Insurgent not just for the lib
erals, but for everyone.
If highlighting the Insurgent's faults can accomplish
anything, it ought to influence a few more liberals to get
out and do something. Liberals are supposed to be
activists. Perhaps they should take action to improve the
Insurgent.
Oregon Daily
Emerald
Managing Editor
Editorial Editor
Graphics Editor
f reeiance Editor
PO 001 JIM fOGf»i£ OREGON tT4GJ
The Oegon Dmty fmarafc1 it puPfcahed darfy Monday through f nday during the school
reat and Tuesday and Thursday during the summer by the Oregon Daily Emerald
Publishing Co . Inc . at the University of Oregon. E ./gene Oregon
The tmereid operates irxJependartBy o« the University •nth off*,m at Su<te 300 ot the
Ert) Memory Union and it a member ot ttx* Associated Press
The k'merakl ts private property The unlawful removal or use ot papers s proseeutable
by taw
Editor-In-Chief: Jafce Berg
(-alley Anderson Sports Editor Steve Mms
David Thorn Editorial Editor Jeff Pcfchardt
Jeff Pasiay Photo Editor Michael Shmdk*
Jeff Winters Supplements Editor Ka>> Soto
Night Editor I dward Kloptenstem
Associate Editors t dead Kiopfanstem, S/udenf Go»**■nmantr Act wfear. Rebecca Mernff
Cc^nmurufy Jui»e Swans** >4ghar £ckJC*bon Administration
News Staff Mandy Bawcum f* . Buchhafte* W son Chan. Dave CharPonneau Amy
Colombo Jmi Davis. Meg Dadoiph. Amy Davenport. Cara Echevarria. Malta Fields. Martin
EisNv Sarah Henderson. Heathen* Fimas Vm l eng t eong Manus MflisM Tnsta Noe
EfasaPeth Reenstjema Robb* Reeves. I .a Sa* •» Sc oft Simonson $lephan*e Sisson
Susanna Steffen*. Joi* Swansan Mch*ie Thompson Aguvar Kevm Trpp Amy Van Tuyt.
Darval West
Genefat Manager JixJy R*edi
Advertising Director Mark Waite* Production Manager Michele Ross
Advertising Sut>* Outta N*co»e Merjmark Teresa isaPeAe. Jeff Manor* Jeremy Masor
Michael Mrieffe Rachael Tru« Kelsey Waken. Ang« Windhe*m
Classified Eiecky March**. Hi taper Vidor s*m Tj© Tecs
Distribution Andy Harvey John Long. Graham Simpson
Business: Kathy Cartone Supervisor Judy Connoiiy
Production Dee McCoPP. Product*** Coortknator Shawna Abate Grey Desmond Tar a
Gauftney. Brad Joss. Stacy Mrtchel. Jenn.ler Roland. Naff Thangv^t. Clayton Ye*
Newsroom .....346-5511 Display Advertising _.546-3712
Business Office .346-5512 Classified Advertising 346-4343
De
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COMMENTARY
The ‘Emerald’ board backs Berg
By Tut: Gleason
1”^hi- On l;i tt l>mt\ Emerald
is an independent student
newspaper The Hoard of
Directors has not and will not
do anything to threaten the edi
torial autonomy of the editor or
the staff lake Berg is the editor
He del ides the editorial < ontent
of the paper and the board
stands behind his det isions.
regardless of the public reai tion.
If Owen Brennan Rounds
[OPE Feb lf>) or anyone else
believes otherwise, then they
haven’t been pay mg attention in
the rts tint meetings of the board
and they don't understand the
t hallenges faring all nevvspa
pers in the 1 'Kids
Brennan Rounds would have
us believe that the Emerald
board became interested in
questions of newsroom diversi
ty coverage of the i ampus com
munity and editorial det ision
making as a result of the Nov 1!,
1993 publication of mug shots of
three blai k University of Wash
ington students and the protests
that followed. That is simply
wrong.
These issues were on the
board's agenda when I became
the faculty representative on the
board in 1991 and have
remained on the agenda Every
candidate for Emerald editor has
been questioned at some length
about his or her plans for
increasing the diversity of the
Emerald's news staff and about
plans for covering the campus
community. During each edi
tor’s tenure, the Iroard has asked
for reports of the success or fail
ure of those plans at the month
ly board meeting.
Following the selection of the
new editor last spring, the board
entered into a long discussion
about the need to provide more
structure and support for the
editor and other Emerald man
agement personnel as they work
to meet the Emerald's stated
commitment to diversity. The
discussions addressed issues of
recruiting and retaining a more
diverse student staff and train
ing for all students.
These disi ussions resulted in
the board’s adoption of a now
Diversity I’oln v at its Nov lti,
1‘Ht t moating It is modeled on
the policies in pint e at /he Seat
lli■ 'fames and other major daily
newspapers in the United
States It is in the spirit of the
American Six letv of Newspaper
Kditors "Project 2000" report in
which the ANSI: pledged that
the proportion of ethnn minori
ties at daily newspapers would
match the percentage m the gen
eral population by the year
2000. The board and the staff are
now actively engaged in imple
menting the Emerald's polii \
The recent spei ml meeting of
the board with representatives
of student unions was part of
the board's ongoing efforts to
understand the issues tin- Enter
aid far es and to develop new
strategies to implement the
Diversity Policy Contrary to
Brennan Rounds’ characteriza
tion, tile meeting was a very use
ful disc ussion Yes. the "mug
shots" were a catalyst for the
meeting, but the partii ipants
moved far beyond that issue
Brennan Rounds would also
have us believe that the board
does not support lake Berg, the
Emerald editor Wrong again
Publishing a daily newspaper is
a tough job Jake has performed
well.
When the board first
addressed the issue of the mug
shots at its Nov. lti meeting —
six days before the HSU news
conference — we had only one
question: What decision-making
process led to the publication?
The board is not in the business
of telling tile editor what to pub
lish; however, it does have a
responsibility to monitor the
professional practices in the
newsroom and provide the edi
tor with i onstrui live feedback
Were we to gather the editors
of )() lending newspapers
together and ask if Berg made
the "right" dei ision in running
the mug shots, we might very
well end up with 15 saving
"yes” <ind 15 saying "no." The
simple answer to the question is
that there is no simple answer
I'he definition of "news" is not
statu News organizations are
always in negotiation with their
publics over the question of
what is or is not relevant and
appropriate Given the increas
ingly diverse makeup of the
public s. the editor's task of mak
ing "right" decisions on tight
deadlines becomes more and
more difficult
From tnv view on the board,
developing polit ies and prac
tices that will support the editor
as he or she confronts the chal
lenge of leading a newsroom in
the 1‘Mills is the best way for the
board to protect and strengthen
the editorial autonomy of stu
dent journalists.
Brennan Rounds may disagree
(and I'll support his right to do
so in the Emerald. The Oregon
Commentator or any where else),
but he'll have to do more to con
vince me he's right than run
around like Chicken Little
yelling that the Emerald hoard is
"a tool for faculty use when the
masses get a bit uppity."
Tim Gleason, an associate
professor at the School of four
nalism and Communication, is
the faculty representative on the
Emerald Board of Directors
COMMENTARY POLICY
The Oregon Daily Emerald welcomes commentaries from the
public concerning topics of interest to the University commu
nity
Commentaries should lx* between 600 and 600 words, legi
ble. signed and the identification of the writer must be verified
when the letter is submitted.
The Emerald reserves the right to edit any letter for length or
style.