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
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■ 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
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