Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 1995)
EDITORIAL r Drunken driving bills inadequate Tho Oregon Ijegislature warns to crack down on drink* ing and driving. Congratulations. Salem. No one wants drivers on tire road and any effort to save lives is good. But the dozen or so bills introduced at this legislative session miss the point. Expensive bills that swing on tho verge of constitu tionality won't solve the problem. Focus on preventative efforts instead. One of the bills recently introduced would require urine samples for drivers suspected of drunken driving. Tho “urine bill" would allow an officer to request a urine sample. If the driver wort* to refuse, his license could be suspended. This bill seems impractical and will no doubt be chal lenged ns a violation of civil liberties. Would the driver bo required to pee in a cup in the middle of the street, or would the state have to use up Its already diminishing police resources to bring every suspected drunken driver to polico headquarters? Another bill would allow vehicle forfeitures for repeat offenders. Authorities statewide would have the oppor tunity to seize vehicles. A stale automobile junkyard isn't the the best deterrent for drivers, especially for repeat offenders who are already unfazed by stiff (renal lies and will probably find a way around the law Also, what happens if the repeat offender is driving someone eIso’s vehicle? Whore will tho lines be drawn? Other bills proposed would require emergency room workers to report drivers with high blood-alcohol lev els after they are injured in accidents and would increase penalties for drunken drivers who have children or handicapped people as passengers. These two bills seem more practical than urine samples and auto junkyards. Any drunk driver caught with children should definite ly receive the stiffest penalties possible. However, the legislature needs a more preventative approach. Tho problem with most of the bills Introduced is that they only deal with drivers after they have been on the road — after they have endangered millions of lives. What about spending money to stop drivers from getting behind the wheel? Police officers could patrol parking lots of bars, parties or other areas, where people are likoly to drink, to stop jieople before they open a car door. Someone offering a ride home would bo cheaper and easier than forced urine tests, imagine the lives that would be saved. Police also need to educate drivers, especially young drivers. At one high school where a number of teens had been killed from drinking and driving accidents, police showed students videos of the accident scenes where tholr peers died. It's time to remember that the number one goal is saving lives, not abusing police power. Oregon Daily Emerald *0 00* ms OftfCON*' Th« ONgon fWv t "waM .» put*ari«J (larfy kfcwyiay wvougb t •«!»» .lw*»j ffw Ktiooi >•*' aod Tuaaday »o<J Thmsday !)ut<ny tb* aummai by 1b« Oagon 0#<fy tmwald f'uWahoa Cd.H.if* Urmwvfy o< (Vooor f ugona. |>»^W' th» ImmtM opwsttn ntimaMi) cJ lh» Unmovly «Wi oAcm *) Su«» 300 0< *w tit Monxxim Union an) a * men*** o< AaaocwMd 1’im Th« (rrtarau a prMto piopwty lb» unautut tamo* ot uh ol pnpw* a pioMculatM by law Ednw UvOiaf Katy Sow Managing tono* EdRorWldHof H*w% An Editor FrwMwK# E<*to* uaw inorn ttobh* ItamM Lon &t**n«aki wn tc*K» Sport* Ednor Cf»»* Urt i Supptanwnt* Editor lniU*M Km Hartry Nrflhl Editor Associate tdnor* * rtadartCb *on Carp SiuA»* Govemmar** Actv**a* Ua-. *»»« F dwmb Gommuirfy. T <itan> $m>»> tujKt* ft^ii^A^nMaMiQn Maw« Staff Slava A»t>u»Y. *^1 CoMnfco. Ptf Qaf> Amyl Davenport. Ta*f\* IcfwHirw Pnmo f ontan* (iayta Forman, O^ftiapftar Fo* Maf! (wferlpn. Gary (yat» Jo« Harwood. Kn* ►*wv> Tr©vcw Kearny Shannon Katfu*. Adam K*xhar Sumwa Marla Mar* fcfcTyre Bar* fctoafau*. Mo^*^om«ry Ann© Mo*a« Komfwd ColMrv PoM«g Sfiery (W«, Kata Satxxyvv P©M Vat Scfc>a Tomao*.*. K*m Wmj ftrwr> Womack Oanaral Manager A*J> R*aJ Acfv©n»*mg Director Mar*. Ai’m Production Manager Me NM» Boa* Advertising Anrxo Amador Amt* Borg©** MfCC O»og. Tony Fo* f ry* Harahar Ncx>»© M©r*m©r*.. Jaymy Maaort, Sarah Mac*©* Tom Mttatataacft. Ki*wr, Ci*»©ift©cf BacAy Merchant, Man*#* Kyi© Daw**. Jo* Safe*. D**tfibertton. Je*n Img. F«rarv flakocn. Wagln© Stupn* Buainaaa *.y?hy Carton©. SMpervnc* Judy ConnoBy Production Oahisa McCobtv ProdtcHan Coot&nator Shaema a**»* Tan GsuRnay Bract Jo**, Jerv*4*r FtoMnd. CfrMon Ya* Kewuoom Otic# >44-4311 D<a<*«y Atfmtlimg Ctautn*d AdvwttMng MA4M] ■ COMMENTARY 49ers best team in football history Primp A. J. Fontan a This week. I’m going ,0 write about something more important than any of the political garbage I usually discuss Of course, that would have to be the San Francisco 4 Sere. I'm not going to mention scores, broken records, stats or any of the numbers over which we have poured since the Super Howl It suffices to say that for one hour, it was unquestionably the finest team in the world's greatest sport (that's right soccer fans, football is the greatest; all of the ephemeral World Cup hype of this summer was as empty as a flat tire). Sports is the last bastion of American life in which only the best are rewarded Unlike the arts, politics or any other facet of our culture, athletics (boxing and college football excluded) is the only one in which one team or person can prove they are tru ly the best of the best This is what San Francisco did with such authority on Sun day. retaking its rightful throne atop the NH.. Steve Young, bless him. final ly broke the curse of Montana. As a native San Franciscan. I can attest to the fait that no mat ter what he had accomplished before Sunday, the city always reminded Young that he could never replace )oe. In any other city in the coun try. including Dallas and Miami, Young would be the unques tioned starter and civic hero But in the city by the bay. he was just a replacement for the fallen deity of Super Bowls past In a way. this was under standable. Everybody knows that in his day. Joe was the great est. period No questions, no doubts, no Marino, no Brad shaw, no nothing. It has always been and forever shall tw |oe Montana as the pinnai le of greatness in the world of foot ball Joe knows it. Young knows it, you know it, 1 know it Heck, people in Madagasi ar probably know it But now, with the ring on his finger, Young is his own quar terback, no longer a stand-in for Montana or a footnote in the annals of 4<»er history. Coach George Seifert has also finally earned himself some respect. Even though he has had the best winning percentage of any coach (okay, there's one fact, sue me), many have ques tioned his coaching ability, say ing the NFL Championship that he won during his first season was simply the result of the careful planning during the Walsh years that proceeded his tenure This time, it was different. This 4‘ter squad may have had some familiar fates from the Walsh era. but this was a team built from Seifert's organization, a victory that was his and his alone, finally standing outside of the long shadow of the mighty Walsh, the greatest coach in pro fessional football history. Jerry Rice suited up and played on Sunday. Need I say more? Ricky Watters and the other offensive skill players proved to he among the greatest assem bled, providing Young with more weapons than an NRA convention in Oklahoma The defense, thanks to hot rookies and some great acquisi tions during the off-season, con tinued, as through the regular season, to be one of the NEC's elite squads However, all of the previously mentioned players of this drama needed one final spark to assure their victory. During the past few years, everything has seem ingly been in place on paper, hut the team simply he Led an unde finable something This year, a few of games into the season, that missing element arrived and made an impact that could never be measured in numbers or stats. As you’ve probably guessed, I'm talking about this year's Defensive Player of the Year. Deion “Prime Time" Sanders. Sanders gave San Francisco a heart, an identity, a flash of bril liance and originality to compli ment the team's stringent work ethic. His flash, pizzazz and in-your face attitude spread like a virus around the team. The usually conservative Young started to spike the hall after touchdowns and get into the faces of his opponents, former meat-and potatoes players like linebacker Gary Plummer learned how to dance on the field and celebrate their accomplishments, the whole team seemed to shave a few years off their lives. Basically, the Niners started to have fun. All of this thanks to the “do rag” (as he (-alls the red bandana he wears on his head) and gold jewelry-wearing two sport star from Florida State. Prime Time was the last nec essary step to greatness, and when ho took his place, boy wore they great We all saw what this demoli tion crew did to its unworthy opponents. The sheer brutality was so epic it made Quentin Tarentino’s festivals of gore look like Disney cartoons, simply Immjuiso its talents were so pro nounced in comparison to those of the sac rificial lambs that were placed upon the altar The 49ers have shown that proper structure and organiza tion, team spirit, talent, hard work, soul and a little good luck can go cjuite a long way Our generation especially should take note of what was accomplished. Being a whiny "slacker," although trendy, is idiotic. Winning those victories in the competitions that we face every day of our lives, and even more importantly enjoying and appre ciating the hard work that gain ing them takes, is what life is all about Primo A / Fontana is a colum nist for the Kmerald.
