EDITORIAL
Charges of racism
unfair, inaccurate
Tho Block Student Union threw the first punch in this
year’s struggle over race relations by hurling insults and
accusations at the Student Senate last week.
The issue was the BSU’s $1,195 request for a top-of
tho-linc IBM-compatible computer for bulk
mailing/fund raising and word processing purposes.
The problems started when the BSU's co-director
called the Senate racist because of its new policy
restricting funding requests for computers. The Senate's
rule now requires that organizations must prove they
cannot accomplish their missions with existing com
puter resources before they will be given money to buy
their own.
Before the Senate had finished voting on the funding
request, BSl) members began leaving the meeting, but
not before a parting shot by one member who called the
Senate's denial ”... a lynching. They might as well have
lynched us from a tree and burned us up on a limb."
The Senate then finished its meeting try declining to
fund a computer request from the Office of Student
Advocacy.
The BSU’s actions do nothing but harm the already
fragile "official" race relations on this campus, By citing
the Senate’s refusal as an example of institutionalized
racism, the BSl< is crying wolf to an audience tired of
false alarms
Lust year. MKChA. the Chicano student union, used
similar tactics with the Senate's precursor, the Inciden
tal Fee Committee, to get desired funding When the JR
first failed to capitulate to MKChA’sf demands, members
ring up the specter of racism and waved it at tho 1FC
Not wanting to appear rat ist. the 1FC funded the request.
This method relies on fear and intimidation rather
than utility and merit.
Racism is a very serious accusation. The mere insinu
ation that a person is a racist is enough to destroy a
i areer and reputation. It is a term that shouldn't bit
abused to gain a few technological trinkets in a fit of
juvenile anger.
The HSU lost its bid for a state-of-the-art computer
bin ause it could not prove that an absence of a comput
er in the office would leave its mission unfulfilled.
The Senate pointed out that tho new $13,940 Media
Resource Center is Just a four second walk from the
BSU’s office. Tho Media Resource Center offers two
high-powered Macintoshes with CD-ROM. a scanner
and laser printer for all ASUO groups to use. The BSU
said using the center caused it to miss important tele
phone calls.
The bottom line is the HSU doesn’t need a computer
to fulfill its mission. The Media Resource Center exists
so that the ASUO doesn’t have to buy a computer for
every student group. The BSU simply wants a comput
er and is willing to use any meAns necessary to get one.
By using racism as a threat, the BSU hoped the Senate
would cave in, as history suggested it would. But tho
Senate stood its ground, refusing to be cowed by an
empty threat.
Unfortunately, if tho Senate grants any requests for
computers in the future, tho BSU will have a field day.
Oregon Daily
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■ LETTERS
The EMquirer?
\v
fortune tjf reading ]ames faiongs
artic le on the elitism of whites
vou probnhK know what I am
talking about
How does such poor journal
ism ever make it to publication?
Let me explain the most proba
ble scenario Bov gets an assign
ment concerning elitism, he
runs out of material and is
fon ed to reach into his hag of
over used, fictitious stereotypes.
And what does he pull out? The
grcek system
This article was not only
poorly written, but also way off
line The greek system has
always encouraged people from
all bm kgrounds to join its chap
ters The COL OKS program
is just one of many educational
mediums that it sponsors to
encourage the importance of
strengthening interne ial rela
tions The quotations used from
the interview with Mark, the
disgruntled Asian fraternity
member, were blatantly distort
ed and false. This is probably
true because no one who really
felt that way could be found I
spoke with Mark I hi fore writing
this letter and found that you
had never even formally inter
viewed him
i ne stnnstns regarding
expenses in the greek system
were so far from reality, they
were comical. Do you honestly
think that greeks spend $1,000
on parties and travel? I don't
know how you made up the
number for pledge and member
ship fees, but they wore wrong
too. The overall expense of liv
ing in a fraternity or sorority is
almost even to any other i ost of
living on i ampus.
If you are wondering why
there aren't more minorities in
the greek system, take a look at
the number of minorities at this
school. The actual number of
non-white students in the greek
system varies between 10 and
30 percent, compared to the
University average of 'll per
cent.
James, your article was
pathetic You had n great oppor
tunity to write about the need
for all students to open up to
each other, and you blew it.
Reporting false stereotvpus like
you have done is not only bad
journalism, but also harmful
journalism. With this article you
have single-handedly belittled
the efforts of hundreds of greeks
on this campus Next time you
need some fat !s about the greek
system, rather than make them
up to fit your story, please con
sider giving me a call
Donavan Dichter
IFC President-elect
Hail Womack
I applaud Brian Womack's
commentary on Measure 16, and
w ish to add to his list of reasons
why we should be concerned if
this measure passes on Nov. H
Proponents of this measure toll
us to look at Holland to see how
assisted suicide is working
then*, so being curious I did.
Derrii k Humphreys, founder
of the Hemlock Society, admits
that Measure lfi is simply an
attempt to open the doorway to
lego I i zed euthanasia. In Hol
land. two types of euthanasia
and assisted suicide are illegally
practiced regularly by Dutch
physicians. The Rammelinck
Report, conducted by the Dutch
government, revealed some eye
opening practices. Sixty percent
of all euthanasia patients were
given lethal doses without their
consent or knowledge.
In Oregon, where we have no
real socialized medicine, people
who fall under the new Oregon
Health Cjire plan will be at risk
of becoming casualties of this
measure. Under controlled cost
plans, physicians receive bene
fits for keeping patient treatment
costs low. Given the choice
betweun exploring expensive
treatment options or implying
that suicide might be an option,
a physician is placed in a moral
ly compromising position. The
question is no longer “How can
this patient be saved?”, but "Is
tins patient worth saving?" And
we have a right to be con
cerned— if not for ourselves,
then for those who are society's
throwaways: the elderly, dis
abled and poor If euthanasia
doesn't work in a socialized
country, *.ve can be sure it will
have disastrous effet ts here
We are a society that has
deformed aging, making it a
feared part of the life process.
We ignore the elderly, disabled
and terminally ill because they
remind us that quo day we will
die too Hut more importantly
they remind us that we will
need the help ol others which
threatens the independence we
worship as a society We leave
many of the elderly to die alone
in nursing homes or shut away
from human contact.
Perhaps the real problem here
is that yve have transformed
dy ing into an unnatural process,
one to he feared and controlled.
Perhaps the real problem is that
yve know we will die in the
same way that we have lived.
Kristen Parmeter
Sociology
Rules are rules
Knowing that all University
services and programs must fol
low the University of Oregon
policy statement on affirmative
action and equal opportunity,
we were surprised and disap
pointed to see U S. military
recruiters at the Career Fair
sponsored by the Career Center.
According to a Career Fair
organizer, all agencies are asked
to comply with the University
affirmative action policy when
registering for the event. Both
the military recruiters and the
Career Center know that the fed
eral government tan bypass the
University policy. Thus, the mil
itary does acknowledge the pol
icy, but they am not bound by it.
Wo approached the Career
Fair table and asked a represen
tative why they, as a University
service abiding by the policy,
sponsored an agency that dis
criminates. They told us that the
military has previously partici
pated in the fair and that many
students express an interest in
military careers. There is also a
population of students that are
interested in careers in the mil
itary but (.annul pursue them, if
they are openly lesbian, gay or
bisexual.
We recognize that we cannot
change the existing laws that
govern military eligibility, but
we expect the Career Center to
adhere to University policy and
deny access to the military for
recruiting on campus By invit
ing the U S military to recruit at
the Career Fair, the Career Cen
ter has made it clear that it sup
ports the discrimination of
homosexuals.
Douglas Knecht
Jennifer Williamson
University students