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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (March 6, 1995)
EDITORIAL Increase security at courthouse When four people worn shot Thursday in a Seattle courthouse, some expressed shock at the violence of the act. The sad reality is that the same violence could hap pen right here in Eugene. The Lane County Courthouse has no physical securi ty system in place. While police officials do patrol the courthouse area, no metal detectors or X-ray machines have been installed to protect the court from guns, knives, bombs or any other weapons Some one could easily go on a shooting spree or blow the courtroom up under the current system. luine County today is more dangerous than it was a few decades ago. As society changes, the needs for security change. No one questions the need for more police in Eugene as compared to a doc ade ago. Why not do the same for courthouse security '’ By nature of their function, courthouses attract accused criminals and victims, spouses from nasty divorcos and disgruntled citizens mad at the legal sys tem. With people like this c ombined with the high stress situation of going to court, the unfortunate reality is that some people will res.at to \ lolem Tins \ n sl.-nc <• must lx> fought immediately in the strongest way possi ble. Someone could east ty go on a shinning spree or blow the court room up under the t ur rent system An easy start to increasing security at the Lane Coun ty Courthouse would be to install metal detectors at the entrants. The move is not extreme by any means. No one questions why people must pass through security checkpoints at airports worldwide. In addition, a num ber of courthouses throughout the nation have installed metal deter tors, including one in Portland. Metal detectors would not t orn© w ithout substantial cost. The county would have to pay for the machines end for staff to otetrate the machines for the hours when the court is open. However, one must ask what is more important saving money that would hav e been spent on the detectors os heip,ng ensure the physu ai set urn ty for those in court 1 he choice should be obvious Lane County of fit ials should spend the money and install the metal detectors before a violent tragedy hap pens in lingerie. A committee is already investigating the need for increased security at the courthouse. It is encouraging and commendable to see that the counts finds security for courthouse employees and the general public to bo a priority. It's unfortunate that circumstances today require communities to spend money on ensuring security In public areas such as courts when the money could he used elsewhere. However, times have changed and met al detectors are a concrete way to combat violence at court. Lane County should step into the present day and incroaso security at its courthouse Oregon Daily Emerald tNn (v? fW» f Ott'-v Mi ??•- t -xSay ■••j .*> 1 ixwKtay and Tlti/KSay l?Ht sujmrtxo* try INs Qr#$>n CW» t fwaartMcJ Pufc&a/wy-j C*j \fK . alt ?f\© UrW0f$ity q* Qc&ffsm l uiStAe, TNr &pm ntti* <yi CNk iWvthM)| o?V.<#t» aft $*>•!«» 300 ©* th* t ft- StP>0 ‘«t a 9f fix© A&tKX .d-n».1 Pu&th Th© ( mmt&Q is prwafo propariy TN> ufiUNriv* tomovai 0* K at» So?© M*n*9tna i tutor EJ«yt||E(t(or Art C tfcto* fe+h»t\c# tiSitor DovM inom -Wl P«iav Uar. (Sen -wo* . Now* t tfclO* StKWtl iditCtf Supptom*nt* fane* Night Editor -» ri O ' S Met? Tfsiiiii N&«t A%»0C>*1» LiMOf* .1 • S'..< *f**? (K -t yV‘ . ' rv M.r ! ,}*,i ,h Civn^K • - A littarty ty^cW'- Mqpw N*»«r* S-tA<f A,..* , A , * . Ar* i >«-.«•'•■ v O'! P‘ ^ ’v ... ;,.<■*# . i.' - ■!> ■* <! ■*« i , M s" KVt Ujr> C**.»s JO*r *4*r* o} K'H Merji) T «~s * o*t «•, S' ’ ' Mi * M Mi -■ -tg»4 •-.*««•«, A. ■'(! M -.•••. 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CiAyv-r v^o Mrwvow 3463611 Ottfrifty Advertising 346-3712 6uiin«ki Omc« 3463512 ClftMUfted Advertising 346-4343 ■ LETTERS Low rent Reg arding Mr Fontana's opin ion plot «> in i in- Emerald on Fob ft('Amazon Outdated"), Mr Fontana maintains that Ixsausn Amazon is only for stu dents, its demolition does not implicate community-wide hous ing concerns “This complex does not benefit the homeless whom w»- on 13th Avenue or the non-t 'iuversitv working poor of our community.'' Say again? Amazon provides more than 100 units at tin- bottom end of the low i.ust housing market Each student there supports a family. Many are single parents rtsetv tug food stamps and/or public assistance who will not be able to afford the SStO-fOO projec ted increase in their monthly rent These individuals will he ■ t ompoto with "the non-Utuver sity working poor" for soiree or non-existent housing Some competitors, both students and non-students will Ns ome home less as n result. Property owners will then Is- in an improved jx»si tion to raise rents, raise deposits, and lower serv ices Urn Amazon rents allowed me to complete law sc hool at the University, Since graduat ing. I’ve practiced tenant law in tiie community and on c ampus I've seen the con sequent es of the tight rental market and what some renters are forced to toler ate. Mr Fontana, if you are truly c oncerned for the community's homeless and working poor, and not just exploiting them for rhetorical purposes, I encourage you to attend the meetings of the Homeless Action Coalition at the United Methodist Church at noon on the sec ond Monday of any month and listen to what homeless activists have to say about Amazon's proposed destruction, John Davidson ASUO Legal Services Call doctor Saciwl Heart Hospital admin istrator Sister Moun .1 Heoran ami other hospital employees claim that one of the main reasons loud physicians should turn over their clinics to the hospital is to avoid "duplication" of medical proce dun's Supposedly, such stream lining will translate into savings for the consumer (patients) Since when has a monopoly, or near-monopoly, ever result ed in significant economic boons for consumers? Usually the exact reverse becomes the case If Sa< nil Heart Hospital grabs con trol of more than 70 percent of local health care providers !t‘s anyone's guess how high fees will escalate Within a matter of days, the physicians at Eugene Clinic and Oregon Medical Croup cimi< s will vote to integrate, or riot, with Sat red Heart Hospital. It’s essential that these physit iaits hear from their patients it's vital that we shoo* our concerns oljout a religious mmiotith hav ing such control over our health care The Catholic administration dropped a cool million bucks opposing Measure lfi. the death with dignity physician-assisted suicide measure that Oregon vot ers approved (currently held up in court on appeal). Physician assisted suicide is gist one of the medical procedures condemned by the Catholic Church It's a scary precedent indeed to allow noar monopolistu control of our health care choices to such an institution it's just plain unhealthy Quit k. call your dot tor Carol Berg Eugene Confusion Chinese Htudcmt Associ this Chinese Student Associa tion. Tin* CSA, formed in the 1970 s and the newly-estnb li.shed I SO's goals are to pro mote students' awareness and understanding about Taiwan. The main reason of the recog nition of the TSO is because the two groups have distinctly dif ferent focuses (ISA is focusing on the cultural aspect of Tai wan, while TSO is for using on the political education about Taiwan. We hope this clarification helps us to understand the dis tinctions between the two groups, I’lease contact us if you have any further questions. Nani Sarosa ASUO International Affairs Coordinator Jason Grigsby ASUO Program Coordinator Leslie Warren ASUO President Responsibility ■ in muffin (o Mr Womat k's article uf Feb. 21,1 would like to say that there have been some isolated incidents that could have been t onsidered not fair Hut as a whole, affirmative at lion has worked due to the fact that most minorities and women realize the responsibili ty a job entails and are willing to bend over backwards to keep that job From w hat I've seen at this University, it's difficult to get students to even show up for class unless there is a test. I saw the Today Slum the morning of the 21st and it was stated that employers .ire seek ing communication, attitude and experience from prospec tive employees It also stated on ihvToday show that they don't care about CPA or what univer sity you came from It seems as thuugh employers are experi encing a lack of responsibility from 101 lege graduates. Theo Burnette Undeclared 2 ■ LETTERS POLICY Tltt' Orison Doily Emerald will attempt lo print all letters containing comments on topii > ol interest to the University community. The Emerald reserves the right to edit any letter for length or style. ' *
