EDITORIAL
Lobby legislators
to prevent cuts
With lH'* budget for higher edut ution being targeted
for cuts, now is the time for more students to lobby their
legislators to save the budget for publicly-funded uni
versities.
The time couldn't be more right for students to act
The state Senate devoted only two hours of time to pub
lit: testimony Thursday — two hours when students
could be offer ted for the rest of their lives by cuts to
higher education
The cuts to higher education are illogical. Under the
proposal from Gov. John Kit/.ha Iter. K 12 and commu
nity collages in Oregon would receive about 97 percent
of their current budgets, with allowances made for infla
tion and enrollment growth. However, the governor pro*
poses to cut almost 15 percent from higher education
— an obviously disproportionate cut
This might be indicative of the fact that legislators
might not believe that higher education is a priority in
Oregon. If that is the case, then they are dead wrong
Oregonians have been inc re.tsingly seeing fewer blue
collar jobs available as wo move into the age of technol
ogy coupled with steep dec lines in the forest supplies
industry.
However, students have the opportunity to let their
legislators know that higher education contributes to
lifelong learning.
It would tw easy for students to write to or call legis
lators from the lingerie area. Unfortunately, it would also
lie the equivalent of preaching to the choir. Our local leg
islators. for the most part, are already aware of how valu
able the University is to students and the community.
Students could more effectively direct their energies
by writing letters to their legislators back home. Portland
students should toll their legislators that the University
directly impacts people in Portland
Likewise, students from Bend could tell their law
maker that Eastern Oregon State College helps give stu
dents skills that they will need when they face the job
market. Citizens of the state are aided by the education
that students receive from all of our state universities
However, the situation is not hopeless yet. With the
collective voice of students speaking to their own legis
lators bark home, more lawmakers than normal will hear
the reasons why higher education shouldn't be cut.
Students must contact their home town legislators
Immediately, as a vote on the proposed higher education
budget should come within the next two weeks Kesi
dent students should call their legislator back home,
while non-resident students can lobby their Eugene rep
resentatives.
Regardless of one's involvement in political issues,
education is an issue which after ts everyone at the Uni
versity. the less the state contributes to higher educa
tion. the more students will be expected to pay
It’s clear that legislators have a lot to learn about fund
ing universities in Oregon. Students must take the ini
tiative to teat h them that higher education is something
that must be valued.
Oregon Daily
Emerald
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_WHAT SHOU4.0 I
SAY ABOUT YOOR
REACTION
Gays in the miutary'
RUUNG?
Don't ask,
Don TtlL.
OPINION
DMV records must remain accessible
Ann* Monk* Kornkkld
Public ah ess to driver**
licenses and motor vehicle
records (loses in Septem
ber IM7 unless each state pass
es opt out legislation to keep
DMV mm ords open
What this means for the pub
hi -at-large is that valuable. ben
eficial information that leads to
ensuring the general health,
safety and welfare of all citizens
will Ih*i ante unavailable due to
a passage included in last sum
mer's federal crime bill
In August. Sen Hartmra Hover.
D-Olif . pushed for the passage
of legislation intended to protect
stalking victims Boxer's bill
went through the Senate qui< ki\
and was approved without pub
lic hearings A repeal of the law
seems unlikely
Currently <itizens can pay a
small fiH> at a DMV office to
acquire someone’s name and
address The law will prevent
those who have legitimate needs
of obtaining motor vehicle
recordt from gaming access.
States < an choose to introduce
opt-out legislation, which
allows slates not It) enforce the
legislation's imposed restrn •
lions This is the result of a com
promise, authored by Rep Jim
Moran. 1> Va . which met with
the least opposition by groups in
favor of open records
Indiana and Missouri were
the first to enact opt-out legisla
tion earlier in the year
The law passed in the crime
bill restric ts the release of per
sonal Information, i.e, pho
tographs. Social Security num
bers. names, addresses, tele
phone numbers and any
information that identifies an
individual.
Information is a neutral com
modity.
How people use available
information cannot be con
trolled by lawmakers taking an
overprotec live static t* and sup
posing they know what is best
(or their constituents.
Lawmakers were elec ted to
represent the people, not to dic
tate their doctrines and fashion
them into law
Barriers that regulate the
release o( information will not
deter determined stalkers from
(aiding other ways of locating
their potential vic tims
Laws to prevent stalking and
to proses ute those c onvic ted ol
stalking are better methods for
achieving the end intended by
the crime bill provision.
In a free soc iety, the- public's
ability to sc rutinize readily
accessible material is the best
defense c iti/.wns have against the
government misuse and abuse* of
information like* DMV records
The blanket cloture of acces
sibility to DMV records pro
motes a liilse sense of security
from those whose original inten
tion was for the good of the peo
ple
The sentiment behind the
anti stalking provision was at its
worst well-intentioned anti at its
best step' in the dirertion
tow ard ending violence against
women
But this law may he one fur
ther step toward the global
exclusion of information Con
cealing public information
shows the great need for a new
set of rules accompanying the
information age, before comput
er records are closed unneces
sarily.
Most individuals have no idea
who has access to their records
nor w Imt their records tell aliout
them At first glance, restraining
ac i ess to public records appears
to Ih* a good idea Perhaps it is
that the traditional American
notions of personal privacy are
at risk
l ew people want to believe
that their lives are an open lajok;
nevertheless, each time people
fill out credit caird applications
and subscribe to cable or maga
zines. they are submitting per
sonal information to countless
groups of other people.
By informing the U S Post
Office of an address change
using form No. 575. which says
tfiat "Filling this form is volun
tary, but your mail cannot be
forwarded without an order. If
filed, your new address will be
provided to individuals and
companies who request it. This
will occur only when the
requester is already in posses
sion of your name and old mail
ing address...,” the ante is
upped even more.
Direct marketers will still
have access to DMV records
The DMV records will be given
only to people with a specifit
business-related reason for
obtaining the information.
DMV records helped uncover
the identities of Florida Kti Klux
Klan members. DMV records
help find people with drunk dri
ving charges on their records
Employers use DMV records
to do background checks on
potential job applicants
Credit agencies can cross
check information on an indi
vidual's debt in relation to a cur
rent address, driving citations
and so forth.
The times that l)MV records
have been used lor the publtt
good are innumerable l)M\
records are an important fact
checking resource.
By enacting the opt-out legis
lation, residents can elect to
block the release of their DMV
records.
Citizens are given an alterna
tive. The decision-making
process in favor or against the
classification of personal data is
left up to them.
To overcome the enormous
ohstai les which must be faced
to guarantee that this freedom of
information remains accessible,
citizen participation is required
Coalitions, the governor's office
and the Oregon DMV can work
as allies.
The fight to keep information
available to ordinary people has
only just begun. Life in an open
society has its hazards but life in
a closed society is even more
dangerous.
Anne Moser-Kornfeld is a
columnist for the Emerald