EDITORIAL
Yet another week
at the University
It’s back for the second lime this year, yes, it's “Al
cohol Awareness Week" — again. But you probably
weren't aware, or else, didn’t really care,
Today marks day two of the four-day event. The
events scheduled throughout tho weok are an attempt to
provide alternative forms of entertainment that don't
involve alcohol. Certainly they will be a hit — or at least
a nice conversation topic at the bars.
On Monday "mocktails," drinks that look like they
should contain alcohol or else be served out of a Slurpee
machine at 7-Eleven. wore being served just outside the
EMU. The lino for tho event mirrored students' interest
in it.
Today, just in front of Johnson Hall, there will be on
ice cream social. This event provides the opportunity to
rub shoulders with the campus elite. Professors, coach
es, deans and student leaders will all bo on hand to dis
cuss tho ailmont of alcohol and students. Certainly this
is an alternative event taking tho place of alcohol con
sumption for many Friday nights to come.
Wednesday, just when your fun scale was nearly
pinned, there will bo a 5K run at Alton Baker Park, Run
ners will wind through the Alton Baker park trails try
ing to prove once again there really are alternative fun
things to do instead of consuming alcohol.
Running as fast ns you tain for just over three miles is
fun, really. And it's more fun than sipping a boer with
other friends sipping beers. Certainly the last thing on
many of the contestants' minds will be a cold beer while
profusely sweating their way through Alton Baker.
And the grande finale of "Alcohol Awareness Week”
(for tho second time this year) will be a concert featuring
Curtis Salgado on tho EMU East Lawn. This does have
an entertaining value worth considering, the same kind
of live entertainment that many of tho local bars offers,
minus the alcohol Hut since when do you have to con
sume alcohol while listening to a band at u bar/
Presenting ideas to college students that don't involve
alcohol is a kind thing to do, but the ideas presented as
alternatives, for the most [tart, are not alternatives worth
relishing.
Alcohol and college students have boon linked
throughout history. Not only do most legal-aged stu
dents drink, many have embarked on underage drinking
once beyond tho reigns of a parental figure. Abuse and
addiction are two wicked words that certainly go on to
haunt many students. But singling out a week (or two
weeks) to get through to the college drinking crowd by
offering ico cream socials and fun mns will, for the most
part, miss the target audience.
And maybe, just maybe, students would rather have a
weok at the University that is not a week at all. Students
have been bombarded with weeks—"Gav Pride Week,"
"Safe Sex Weok," "Earth Week." “Alcohol Awareness
Week,” "Dead Weok," “Finals Week." and the list,
undoubtedly, goes on. A week without a name at this
school is as common as college students attending an ice
cream social on tho stops of Johnson Hall with deans
and profossors.
Oregon Daily
Emerald
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COMMENTARY
An ounce of crime prevention
By Pelef DeFazio
Criminals should pay the
price for breaking the law
We've abandoned this
philosophy in America. Prison
overcrowding and an overbur
dened justice system allow vio
lent offenders with long rap
sheets to escape serious punish
ment
1 respect the president for
focusing on the devastating
impact of the rising epidemic of
violent crime on our streets and
in our communities.
Oregonians came face to face
with this epidemii not so long
ago when three individuals
viciously treat two women at the
Dart Mart in Eugene, bludgeon
ing one to death This heinous
crime was committed during the
theft of $50
Unfortunately, this was not an
isolated incident The possibili
ty of an American becoming a
victim of a crime is 19 percent
higher than 10 years ago. Every
year five million people are the
victims of violent crime — mur
der, rape, robbery, assault bur
glary, and larceny-theft.
Hut ou average, criminals
serve only 45 percent of their
sentence. The average violent
offender is sentenced to 7 H
years, but only serves 3.1 years
in prison. The average murder
er serves H.7 vears in prison.
Criminals are walking out of jail
and returning to our streets to
commit more crimes.
For the first time In years,
there is a serious commitment in
Washington to helping states
keep violent criminals in prison.
In a variety of ways. Washington
has finally decided to get tough
on criminals and get smart on
preventing crime
More police officers equal less
crime. This measure provides
for the hiring and training of at
least 50,000 (potentially up to
100.000) new police officers in
communities across the nation
Oregon's under-policed rural
areas especially need more
' (.ops on tin* Bent Measure 5
has unfortunately left law
enforcement organizations in
our state with too little dollars
for too big a job and its time for
the federal government to help
out.
We shouldn't be a nation that
builds more prisons rather than
si hools. But facts are facts.
There simply is not enough
prison space today to keep vio
lent criminals in jail This legis
lation allocates $10.5 billion to
state correctional facilities to
pay for the incarceration of
repeat violent offenders. Addi
tional funds are specifically
direi ted toward putting youth
ful offenders into boot camps —
not on probation.
Violent crime against women
must be stopped. Reported cases
of rape and spousal abuse have
risen dramatically in the recent
years, but women have often
faced a justice system ill
equipped to adequately address
this kind of violence. It does not
make sense that we live in a
nation with three times as many
animal shelters as shelters for
battered women. A step in the
right direction, this measure
provides grants to state and local
governments to reduce violence
against women, authorizes rape
prevention grants, and grants to
encourage arrests in situations
involving domestic violence. It
also establishes new federal
crimes of interstate domestic
violence and stalking
The lesson we have learned is
thal it costs far less for America
to invest in a child early than it
costs to lock them up later I par
ticularly advocate provisions
r—-■ 1 11 1—
that target young people — the
Police Corps program that gives
young people college scholar
ships in return for a four-year
commitment to serve on a local
police force, the Midnight
Sports program which takes kids
off the streets and puts them on
the playing fields, and anti-gang
programs that target at-risk
youth in crime-ridden areas. In
addition, "ounce of prevention"
grants will assist social service
organizations that handle delin
quency, gangs, substance abuse,
unemployment, school
dropouts, and teen pregnancy in
a coordinated approach
These innovative measures
are only a few of the bold steps
being taken to combat crime in
America Wo are past the point
of "hot air" crime proposals —
it's time for sweeping changes in
the criminal system that incor
porate swift and sure punish
ment and smart crime preven
tion techniques This means
locking up violent criminals, hut
it also means getting to kids at
on early age — before they get in
serious trouble.
This S2H billion crime pack
age is the largest federal com
mitment in history to preventing
violent crime. Unlike a number
of other crime bills in recent
years, this package is a real and
credible attempt to address a
problem whose answer has in
the past eluded our elected law
makers It’s tough, it's smart, it's
progress toward a safer Oregon
and America.
Peter DeFaeio is an Oregon
Congressman
COMMENTARY POLICY
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