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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 25, 1994)
EDITORIAL Ballot Measure 13 is too restrictive Although Us wording is carefully calculated to sound as harmless as possible. Ballot Measure 13, the anti-gay rights initiative, will have a detrimental impact on edu cation in this state — all the way from kindergarten to college. The Oregon Citizens Alliance promotes the measure ns "protection for our children." But Ballot Measure 13 extends well beyond children, and if it passes this November, the free exchange of information that every university should strive for could bo severely impaired. The key words in Ballot Measure 13 demanding attention are those that say. "... nor shall public funds bo expended in a manner that has the purpose or effect of promoting or expressing approval of homosexuali ty." Just what constitutes "promoting" or “expressing approval" of homosexuality is not at all clear. It doesn't matter what the OCA says it moans. Tho OCA's inten tions are legally meaningless. All that matters is tho wording of the measure itself, and it's difficult to know at this point how the courts will interpret that word ing. On this campus, Ballot Measure 13 could mean that the University couldn't teach any class that would seem to have tho effect of "expressing approval" of homosex uality. A class portraying homosexuals in a positive light — say. a survey of gay and lesbian literature — could easily qualify as "promoting" homosexuality and would therefore be banned under Ballot Measure 13. The Lesbian, (lay & Bisexual Alliance could no longer receive any money from the ASUQ to operate if Ballot Measure 13 passes, since student fees are regarded as public funds. And because the LUBA does indeed express approval of homosexuality — that's one of the organization's primary purposes — its right to even have an office on (ampus could be in jeopardy. Counseling services offered by the University and oth er government agencies would be forbidden to discuss homosexuality in a positive way. And libraries, including those on the University cam pus. would be forced to keep all materials referencing homosexuality in adults-only sections, out of reach from children — and. presumably, any young people who cannot produce proof of ago. (One wonders whether the OCA will volunteer its members to servo as guards to these newly created adults-only sections.) Since no public funds may be used to "promote" homosexuality, no new books describing gays, lesbians and bisexuals in a favorable way could be bought, even if libraries promised to keep them away from children. And children’s books on homosexuality, admittedly few in number, would not bo available in any govern ment-funded library, even for parents who might want to use them in teaching their own children. The OCA would probably call many of these sugges tions “scare tactics.” Exactly. Ballot Measure 13 is scary. It would have an impar t far greater than the OCA admits —- perhaps even further than the OCA realizes. For the sake of education. Ballot Measure 13 must ho defeated. Ort)i PO DOO»W IUGC»H 0*fGO*V40) Th« 0«*pKyi Oitofy t rtuv&j r* dmty Mo/xiay through Fnrlary du*tf>g th© frLhooi yea' and Tuesday and Thuf»day dwnng the Jumm#f by the Oregon Da•!» ! me*»id Pub««*hsng Co , Inc a! the Urwve*s*ty ol Oregon. I ugert«. Oregon *h« lm«r»kJ Opera!©* *fc)*wrKkWiey 0* the Unn***»ty w*th QfW«* & $u4o 300 0-t the Ifb \jn*ot\ and »« a member oI th© Press 1 be f mm*k3 »* private property The unlawful removal or u»e of paper* »* proaecutaWe by law Edttordn-ChleT Kafy Soto v, Emerald Managing Editor Editors Editor Graphic* Editor Fraalartca Editor kvDapth Editor D*vxJ Thorn Joe Tiarwood J©f! PfUtay Baum E <J KKJp4«nftla^ Nam Editor Sport* Editor Photo Editor Sopplamanti Editor Night Editor RtitMKX* Merntt Oril M«*: fcfcchaer ShtfvJk* Tn*ta No* Tnsla No* Assoc Lata editor* •<vt\ von Carp. MxM Government A^tvtimrs. Marc<«en« l ifwmJ* Common*J) TtftanySmitf> **gf>er Education Aj*t'rrv#fraf»cv» New* Staff: tor Befttnoj* W i»on CNyn. Amy Colombo. 1 a*ha l«ch#«w»h<if Aba f sfcmada. Pwno toman*. Gayie Forman Chn«topN» »o». Mu" Cartor Gray Grass. $*/*• Henderson Kn» Mcrvy. Trevor Ketvney Adj*n KntN*. M*r* AtTyr* Ben Anna Motor Korn»o*d. S>>eny Rottm iW». I 01 Safc*X*t PiHi Van SrC*t*. K«m M«tu Dante* West. Bn*n Womaea General Man agar: Judy N**s Advertising Dirac tor Mart Waftor Production Manager M* r «» Ro*» Advertising Mo- o Ch*ng. Tony fo« t mo Harsher, N»coia itar/ma-« Jar am y Mason Mkbea* Un«n« Sarah M*ch«« Tom MnatStaadt Katsey We*ei: Classified flarty Merchant. Manager Jofc Soft on. Jods Wat Distribution: John long. Ferenc Rafcocn, Regina Zauprwk Butina ** Karfiy Cartoon*. Supervisor Judy Coonofly Protkrctton Dehfca McCobb. Protection Coonfruator Shaama Abe**. G'eg Desmond. Tara CiAuftnay. Brad JOSS. Jer«v«ar Roland. Natl TKangv'pl. Qayton Yea Newsroom 346-3511 Display Advertising 346-3712 Busin#** Office 346 5512 Oeesifled Advertising 346-4343 Strategy Gemstone of the VJeek I IF VOU DON'T LET ME GO, f'LL ATTACK, CVIOP c/p AMD DEVOW KUWAIT AGAIN. samL as if \x*j do hi go ■ LETTERS Revolution! Our Amerii.an system is falling apart! Kids are murdering kids fur a pittance, a jacket or randy What is Amerit a coming to? The Republicans' hard-nosed response is "more prisons," hut never mind looking for the real causes of our ills It appears to me that things are getting so ugly and bad that America needs to lie taken over by the United Nations nr a foreign country with new ideas and solutions to teach us better ways. After all, we are try ing to corm t everyone else not living up to our standards! Would this not tie a novel idea? It may put the fear of God into us to straighten up and live up to human standards 1 am sii k of greed, cruelty and injustice in America Will the upheaval come from outside or finally from within? Hllde K. Cherry Eugene 13 = 9 Hallo! Measure 13. the current anti-homosexual measure. has been cleaned up of its vitriolic, language but mx'Ls to accomplish goals that art- similar to its pre dtM I'ssor several years ago. Mea sure 9. One of the results of the pas sage of this measure would he to not allow "public funds (to) be expended in a manner that has the purpose or effect of promot ing or expressing approval of homosexuality." The result? 1 quote from the ballot guide put together by Ecu menical Ministries of Oregon: "Measure 13 would censor ai-a demic freedom in an unprei e dunted way. University profes sors would not be allowed to assign any reading material that might express approval of homo sexuality Textlmoks. works of art and the University programs would need to lx- reviewed and censored.. Gay-positive support groups would be banned from campus..." Leaders from various campus ministry groups will be in the KMIt ('curtyard on Wednesday at noon to discuss why we are opposed to Ha I tot Measure It loin us! John Reutter-Harrah Campus Interlaith Ministry Inflated stats This loiter has nothing to do with political views, mine or yours, hut with Paul Van Sickle's statistical knowledge (or lack thereof). In your column (ODE , Oct. 20), you ask: "If 4.7 percent of homosexuality prevalence rates were taken from male prostitutes, and 20 to 25 percent of the sam pling came from prison inmates, why is this a problem?" I'll tell you why Bouiuso male prostitutes do not moke up 4.7 percent of the American popula tion. and prison inmates do not make up 20 to 25 percent of the American population When survey research is done, the sample taken must be repre sentative of the population to which the results will lie gener alized If one wants to find out the percentage of prison inmates who are homosexual, one's sam ple should be a representative cross-section of prison inmates. If one wants to find out the per centage of Americans who are homosexual, one's sample should be a cross-section of the Ameri can population. A sample includ ing 20 to 25 percent prison inmates is not a representative c ross-sec tion of Americans. Since homosexuality rates an* inflated in the prison population, overrepresenting prison inmates in the sample artificially inflates the rate of homosexuality obtained from the study. When the results of the study are gen eralized to the American popu lation as a whole, the rate of homosexuality is overestimated. Similarly, if one took a sample of people at the EMU to find out the percentage of Americans enrolled in college, the results would be worthless, since a I much higher percentage of peo ple at the KMU are enrolled in college than Americans in gen eral. I agree i ompletely with this statement from your column: "statistics are a dangerous tool ” You art! right They t.an he dan gerous when they are wielded by people who are statistically igno rant. Derek Olsen Psychology Grow up This letter is in response to Mark Mo l yre's column on the sports page of the Oct. l't ODE sianumng "Ijtte Night with Jerry Green.” First of all. let me say that if you thought "Late Night" was boring, you are in the minority. Kvervone I talked to thoroughly enjoyed it. as we did the last two years Could it he that people your age are bored with everything unless thev have a beer in one hand and a remote control in the other? If sou think we (an spend money like the "lug boys." then sou have l>een on the planet Mars too long. 1 don't know for sure, hut I suspect that the sponsors paid for the "free" T-shirts that were given away, and I'm sorry you did not get there soon enough to get one. I was in line at 5:15 p.m.. and I guarantee you there were no "elderly people" waiting iti line to get into McArthur Court Get real! Attendance at this event has increased each year, and we are therefore grateful to Jerry Green for bringing fun and excitement hac k to The Pit. If enough stu dents aren't showing up. maybe it's because people like you slam the event after it is over instead of promoting it before it begins. I was hoping that tin- sports editor and writers this year would be more mature and enlightened than they were last year, but 1 guess it is not to be. Terry Vance Eugene
