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
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■ 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