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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 28, 1995)
EDITORIAL Banning television in jail positive move Television has finished serving its time in prison. Officials have decided to pull the plug on television in the Yakima County jail (Wash.) With limited excep tions. such as those for educational or religious pur poses. inmates won't be allowed to sit and watch the lube all day. The Insightful move will help Inmates. Rather than play the role of babysitter for the length of the prisoner's term, corrections officials will now be able to encourage inmates to do something positive. Whether it's reading a book or learning a skill, prisoners will now be edu cated rather than be allowed to vegetate. Yakima County is one of a number of jails that has taken the move to get rid of the television. Across the country, jails are toiling prisoners to entertain, or prefer ably, educate themselves. Tax dollars shouldn't be spent to give inmates something to stare at for the duration of their punishment. Instead, prisons are often following the will of the people in requiring prisoners to do something useful with their time. Oregon voters passed an initiative in November to require Oregon inmates to work. However, many might not realize that what's good for prisoners is also good for society. The action by Yakima County officials may have repercussions outside of correctional institutions, It might get others to question their use of television While college students may not have time to watch as much television as others, it is commonly believed that most people, from young children to older adults, watch a lot of television. A good number of them watch too much. Television itself is not bad. The medium, used by mil lions in America every day, can be an informative and educational tool for many. Television can help deliver information in a way that no other medium can Hut that doesn't mean it should consume people. t he key to television is how it is used, instead of rou tinely sitting in front of the television for several hours every day. setting a time limit or picking certain pro grams to watch would be smarter options. Smart usage of television requires thought on the part of the viewer While television can bo an enjoyable release from the pressures of everyday life, there are other ways to relax than staring at the tube for the evening Rediscover the library and read a good IxKik Volunteer in the commu nity and make a difference in someone's life. While the phrase "kill your TV" might not become a buzzword in prison, in the case of one jail in Washing ton. the move to take television out of the daily life of inmates is a move to lx* applauded, if society would fol low the lead of Yakima County, the nation would be a bettor place. Oregon Daily Emerald kcisk: TH* Oegon i ~*»»*J*% put**«*nad <*»-*, Monday itircugpi »***** durv'g m« tehooi )'«# and Tuaadtt* arxl Thuraday du**Xi ft>e aummar try IN? Or*Qon (Wy l maratt Co Wv 3< the UrvvartAy Ol Oragcm tuOina OaOftn T*h> /: m*raAf opPNNe* *ndn***vKwinT o« the Ur v*r«*y with ?V** a* Sw*a XX) o# t?va i. rt> Mem-oraf Union and * a man*t** of ?n» Aftaooatacl (*>!» T he f mmHQ Ji pnvaia property Tha urtawfj remove* o u*« at paper* a proeac utahto EdUor-to-CMat K*y Soto Managing EcSto* OavkJ Thom NewifdMof Rebatxa Editorial fccitor Hopfawi lt»i«i Sports Editor On* Mat* Mavra Art Editor Jtf* I*AVcry Supplements f drtor Trip* Mo# Fraatanc# Editor U)n (iaCbn<M*< N»ght Editor l(«tv«u Associate Editor*. T ,tV'4 I cfw.wifw. Stafcrtr <jpw*'v?x**i Vi***Nr* M»r*. o-ana f. dwerd*. Ca^rn^rMy . trtany Sm«h. 7*phar EAtfJlOvAt]hv><ifrpt>n Maw a Start *>*f»ve Ajtx,*y Amy CoMnbo Amyl lvsv«-pcrt Pnnv. t orAana, Gays* former. Cl’rsstoptver f o* Mott (iariorv Gary GrMA. Jo* Harwood A*»* itarvy. Trevor Kaamay. Shimon X v.K,M. Adam K.»x^«v Sujar*' •«? Maria. Mirt McTyr*. Pa?*v> Mnicyd Bar Moat*u*s Natafc# Moriyomary A/v-n vt w* a omiead CcAnan Sherry Rarvey. A at* Sabot^n. Paul van S»-*>* Sean Sm*r* Ja«rny Siinto^ A--*- W*v*», Brian Worn*-* l a* /ac.rah Garvey #l Manager JUdy firaf Advertising Dir act or Mart Aa'm Production Manager M •*** Ron Advattiimg. Anna Amador. An*U Borgarr* Ma > Chmg. Tony To*. Cr»n Mar'Sha* MttO*a Harnaf» kwemy Maw-*. Sarah M‘. ?•«**. T om fcAner-ata**.*. K«P**y W«fce* Classified (Wfcy Merchant Ut'tdga Ay-te Oat** Jo* SaAtn Otatrifeutton.- John l orp. f arenc Mafeocf*. O'**am S-mpaon Boa*name Kathy Carbona. Sapor****1 Ju*h Co»v ••>!■* PtoducWon Oahfea McCoPb, ProdUrtpn Coordinator Shawna an** T*»a GauAnay. Brad •X. M. , U v j nf V.- H » •- -.,• >(V Nawaroom 346-S511 Otaptoy Advartta^ng >46 371? Buairvea* Orttca >46-Wt2 Claaaiftad Advartiaing MM34J DONTffcAMf \ m*. | » ONtt YtoQX I MX- J ■ LETTERS OSPIRG good OSPIRG What exactly is an OSPIRG? A bird' No. 1 think that was osprey Student activism has always h**«n imitor tant to me As a transfer student, 1 was more than surprised at the enthusiasm of students at U ofO about sew lal issues When I walked into the OSPIRG office to sound quite trite — 1 had found a niche I was in the midst of a strong core group of people who i are about getting things done We sit down, com municate. share ideas to facili tate change and activate the con sciousness of students and communities Educate, inform, activate However, this is |ust one person's point of view i could tell you about all the great things they’ve accomplished: the bottle bill, ns vcling law. toy safety, banking survey, con sumer hotline, renters' rights, making Oregon green OSPIRG — it's important when we re trying to save a planet Theresa Jon hi ns Eugene Convincing !-ate Tuesday evening, my husband brought home a copy of that day 's ODE (Feb 7). Them was a commentary written by three clergyman from the New man Center, offering a different perspective than is usually pre sented on the rerent tragic killings of abortion clinic work ers and volunteers I read the letter and found it thought-provoking Though the writers should have taken more care to emphasize their condem nation of violence against abor tion clinic workers, in general, their explanation of the probable i auses of terrorism was well considered and convincing. 1 hoped that the well-educat ed and politically sensitive read ers of the Emerald would he able to give this article their fair minded reading it deserves Hut 1 know that, even as 1 write this letter, the clergymen are receiv ing abusive, hate filled phone calls Tomorrow, they will receive hate mail By Thursday, the Emerald will have received numerous hysterical, censorious letters a< cosing Pimentel, Lucci and Vajda of condoning murder, ( aring fur fetuses more than women, trying to force their feelings on everyone else, etc., etc You can bet that the main thrust of the article, that terror ism emerges when a group's legitimate message is repressed or dismissed as irrelevant over a long time by adversaries who have a monopoly on power, will be ignored or summarily denied. Ironii ally, that will go a long way to prove their hypothesis, Rita K. Freedman Eugene Explanation After reading the Feb. 10 nrti i U< regarding l’rc>j«*«! Saferide's budget hearing, I found that the allocation description needs some explanation We did not receive a 5.'t percent increase from last year's budget. When Project Saferide went for its budget hearing in winter 1994, it received .$22,015. In spring 1994. ridership was increasing steadily and it was diM.ided that another dispatcher was needed Saferide presented a ballot measure to the student body It was approved and Saferide added another $20,319 for a new van and 513.24H to pay .i second dispatcher to its budget, making Saferide's 1994 ‘*5 budget a total of $55,582 from student fees I his >ear, Saferide presented a budget with the second dis patcher's pay already added. The Finance Committee approved the new budget With out the van, which was a one time only purchase, Saferide received a 4 1 percent decrease in its budget If the van is to he included, tt was actually a 39.1 percent dei rease. I hope this clarifies the allocation Saferide nx eived for its 1995-98 budget Sandra Macke Project Saferide Pro-choice I am writing in response to the Feb. 7 commentary in which priests front the Newman Center condoned abortion clinic vio lence as a last resort in the movement to restrict women's right to abortion. The priests claim that Roe v. Wade’s legal ization of abortion is unfair to those who oppose it. and after 'll) years of protesting, anti-abor tionists feel they have no choice but to react in violence. The Roe vs Wade ruling final ly allows women jurisdiction over their own bodies and gives women the legal right to deter mine their own reproduction This should be an indisputable right, but unfortunately there are those people who do not see it as so The anti-abortionists have gone from picketing abortion clinics to blocking women's entrance into the clinics to act ing in violence against abortion clinics. Clinics are bombed and set |on| fire. Doctors and their families are harassed and threat ened. In several instances, doc tors have been murdered. These ar ts of terrorism against dinit s and doctors and against women are inexcusable in any instance Reversing legislation on account of tiie violence would lie giving ill to terrorism. The pro-choice movement works to maintain women's right to reproductive freedom and to keep all options safe and legal. Contrary to what the anti ahortionists would have us believe, pro-choice is not pro abortion No one is pro-abortion The Newman Center priests say that most Americans arc opposed to abortion rights, but they fail to cite their statistical sources. According to a 1988 survey done by Hickrnan-Maslin Research and American View point. 77 percent of American voters believe that "abortion is a private issue between a woman, her family and her doctor land that) the government should not be involved." The anti-abortionists are des perate to inflict their views upon the rest of the nation and in doing so, many have resorted to violence. Terrorism is unjus tifiable in any form and under any circumstances. Until these acts of violence stop, women's rights and Americans' beliefs will continue to be infringed upon. Grace Smutt Students for Choice
