EDITORIAL
Don’t judge a slide
by its label
The (Jniversitv knight Library is beginning lo ( hange
tlu) referent os of Japanese sources from the abbreviation
JAP to the abbreviation JPN. but it is a useless change
An article that appeared in the Emerald Jan 27 intro
du< ed the idea that JAP. which was used as an abbrevi
ation in the Japanese colic* tion at the library, was a rac ial
term for Japanese. Of course the library had not intend
ed to cause racial tension on campus — if anything it
instigates diversity just look beyond the label Hut the
idea c aught on, and now the library is beginning to
rename tint collection
Librarian (loorgo Shipman said, " 1 he library is happy
to make the change in the spirit of diversity, sensitivity
and respect."
The fact may be argued as to the happiness involved
in changing three letters on more than 25,000 labels.
Racial issues at the l Diversity are sensitive ones, maybe
too sensitive. The collection, like every other collet •
tion like it, is named by the first three letters of the c oun
trv's name - MHX abbreviating Mexico, for example
The abbrev iation system has been used in the library
fur nearly i.r> years There has not been any sur c essful
attempt, or any attempt, to < hange the system before Is
the issue of rac ism progressing in a positiv o forward dins
tion in is the promotion a useless sense of i hange''
i he JAP abbreviation oc curs on more than 25,000 slides
in the collec tion. < .hanging the collection will take years
and a large effort by the library staff
Hut as the world continues to evolve and diversity con
tinues to expand, is the simple abbreviation on a slide
colter tion really important in the big picture of diversi
ty!’ At least we are lucky enough to have a collection that
represents many c ountries and their cultures available
to the students and the community. T hat incorporates
diversity itself. The old saving "Don’t judge a hook bv its
cover” is a good one.
(Tanging labels is simply changes labels If rac ism is
the issue, the root dwells far beyond the label. It seems
ironic that the labels are the issue of change. The ac te
al substance of the collet tion is one of the most diverse
and interesting means of experiencing the Japanese cul
ture or any t ullure that is available in the library. It adds
insight into the < ulture. All one has to do is look beyond
tlic* label
Years of work spent to change the' slide labels in an
attempt to "change in the spirit of diversity" is not u use
ful change. The time spent changing could be time spent
further incorporating Japanese culture into the United
States
The library staff should be commended on its efforts
to incorporate the change and its willingness to com
promise. Hut the staff should evaluate the time involved,
the money that will bo spent, and then c onsider if the
cTango is one that will best serve all of the library users
or simply the few that have responded to the article
Tho collection that exists is a tremendous service to
the users — a service that must continue to lx> maintained.
Hut the* center of the issue should Iw the* content, not the
label.
Emerald
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LETTERS
Some crow?
h‘l iis riot talk, falseh non. the
hour is getting late
— Jirni Hendrix
As I write this letter. I am see
ing through teers It's Valentine's
Day. mid instead of composing a
message for a beloved one I in
[or< ed to respond to the boys
whose letters desec rated me
I he i ore issue burning at the
stake is this
George kakis aiadenili tree
ihaii stripped me of mr civil
rights as defined In I itle l\ '
The Altai k. April 1 19‘U
During an outdoor art < lass, 1
was re< lining against a tree I lie
student assailant stealthily
stalked near, pounced, landing
on top of me He Ion efullv
pressed his body against mine
gripping till shoulders shaking
me. grow ling 1 pen eived this as
a rape attempt'
Mr O't.onnel [Old- I eh U)
dismisses the crime by i itmg a
si roam of stats praising the i lass,
then dei lares the harassment
never occurred Mr l.ehrman s
affirmative action inquiry lODh.
Fab ')) was a travesty of justic e
They implied that 1 was an unroa
sonable woman, and therefore no
sexual harassment took place
The administrators who agree
with their determination are
brand. Davis, Wong. King, Swan.
Degidio
l.ehrman implied 1 lied in my
testimony concerning the nega
live rein turn from Mr Wells at
affirmative action w hen I phoned
him April in. 1901 1-ehnnan said
No der ision is made on the
Imsix of a telephone inquiry " The
hu t is Wells did not make an
appointment with me to file a for
trial complaint because, as
explained by Lorraine Davis,
Mr Wells had determined that
nothing discriminatory took
place
Uhmmm, would you Ikas c.aro
for some (Tins'
Devon Gray
Eugene
Thanks
I'd just like to thank Mitchell
Tan and Susanne Steffens, an
interracial couple featured in
Interracial couples breaking
stereotypes" [ODE. Feb. H), fur
dispelling the myth that an Asian
who dates a Caucasian is attempt
ing to upgrade bis or her status
I believe that people who still
hold on to tins notion Imlieve that
whites are the superior ra< e. and
that bv associating with them a
non-white person is trying to
obtain more respect, and perhaps
admiration from the soi inly at
large
This w av of thinking shouldn't
be tolerated, it siinplv reflet Is a
( lose minded sot letv that doesn't
realize that forming mult 11 ultur
al relationships is a means of dis
i overing and exponent mg tins
wide world
Asian/white relationships are
frowned upon in main societies,
and like Steffens said, this may
not be bet ause of rat ist reasons
hut ignorant c Asian white rela
tionships should indeed be
encouraged to foster a better
understanding of both t ultures
More importantly, however, sut h
relationships would help settle
the mam falsehoods that whites
have about Asians
I am glad that there an-1 ouples
like Fan and Steffens who have
found each other and. as a t oil
sequence. discovered whole new
worlds Hv getting together, they
are not only finding happiness
for themselves, hut also educat
ing those around them.
I empathize with their struggle
to improve the lackluster support
they are receiving from their
homelands, and 1 support their
efforts to maintain their rela
tionship
Yasmln A. Hamid
Singapore
Censorship
lames Patton [ODE. Feh 14)
says "The OCA is not trying to
ban hooks or authors." then he
savs the Oregon Citizens Alliance
does not want to ban books
"except m the classroom." (X!A
employee Scott Lively [Hcgistrr
Guard. May 2b. 1992) says. "(The
OCA) will scrutinize schools and
public libraries for material it
considers objectionable. ... If we
Find that a book about homosex
ual lifestyle is in a library. we
will du everything we urn to girt
it out of there The OC.A wants
to take away my right to go to the
library and check out hooks I
want to read I call banning and
removing hooks from libraries
censorship.
In AIt'in Knmpf, Adolf Hitler
says. "What we have to fight for
is the security of our race and
our people, the nourishment of
its children for the fulfillment
of the mission which the Creator
of the universe lias allotted also
to them everything has to he
examined and to be employed or
to lie rejii ted according to its use
fulness "
In 19 0. Hitler's propaganda
minister Joseph Goebbels encour
aged students at the University
of Merlin to burn hooks "which
act suhversively on our future or
strike at the root of German
thought, the German home, and
the driving forces of our people
I don't want any group to cen
sor what I may or may not read
lk> you?
Heidi Walcutt
Eugene
Moved
Kandy Sfiilts was a courageous,
inspired, and memorable indi
vidual. though I was stru ken by
painful embarrassment in the
manner m whu ti 1 was informed
of his life.
Climbing the last step leading
to a junction where an enormous
lecture (lass had just been
released. 1 noticed a copy of the
Feb 1H Emerald on the floor
Directly underneath the headline
"Nationally known alumnus
dies" and across what I soon
learned to he Kandy Shi Its' face
were the words "DEAD FAG" in
thick black ink.
Intrigued. I picked up the
paper and read the article. This
is the first experience I have had
on this campus with overt !>ack
wardness. I wonder if 1 would
have been as strongly moved if
1 had not been shook up by the
defacing. What were you think
ing? •
Kevin Aaron
Anthropology