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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 8, 1995)
EDITORIAL Patience key for all in work stoppage Oregon Public Employee Union members began strik ing earlier today as part of a statewide show of determi nation for a salary increase Almost 18.000 union mem bers will be striking Monday, including a number of employees from the University. Those affected include many Oregon Hall, University Housing, Office of Pub lic Safety and other employees. The strike will make life difficult for everyone during the next few days. Many University services will have longer lines, less staffing and slower service it will, as many would expect, be a trying time for the University community. ____ ii s important mat students and fat uity realize that tho strike is not directed toward the University or higher education in Oregon, but toward the state of Oregon as a whole. It is important that the edu cation of students at tho University continue as normally as possible As students will notice during this work stoppage, OPEU represented employees are vital to the success and efficiency of opera tions of this University' and slate during the work stoppage. Faculty must continue to teach and students continue to loam The community must also be patient with those stu dents and supervisors who arv working during the strike Students and most supervisors are not union members participating in the strike but are, in many cases, peo ple who are just trying to do their regular jobs and to keep offices and other services available to students. Offices won’t be as efficient as usual and service won't be as good, but people will be working hard to ensure that the Uni versity will function as well as possible during the strike. The strike will make life harder for everyone, it’s important to realize that, while the strike will most like ly end Wednesday, the pay of state employees repre sented by OPEU hasn't increased since 1M3. While Uni versity students and faculty will endure hardships for 72 hours. OPKU-represontod employees have lived through several years without raises. If state employees can deal with that. University students can rough the hardships of the strike for three days. The ideal situation would be for the state to agree to the union's request for a t'».5 percent wage increase for represented employees. The state t an’t solve its budget problems on the hacks of its employees. The state offered workers a 2 percent increase late last week and met Sun day for additional talks, which shows that the two sides are -.till talking However, workers deserve the full t> 5 percent increase With the cooperation of everyone, the \ adversity will continue to function on a somewhat-normal basis tinring the next few days. However, as students will notice dur ing this work stoppage. OPEU-roprosented employees are vital to the sik < i".s and efficient v of operations of this 1 Inivorsity and the state. Perhaps legislators will recognize that someday. Oregon Daily Emerald PO OO l 11*9 CuCtCNC 0*f GO* f ?4CSJ Th© Oegon C’-i '>• ( *'*r*kf»* put**ha0 U » Monday though f '*J4y du^ng P'© scftoo yna? and Tuesday and Thu*stay during th# lummei by ?** Oregon Dady Emerald Putttohmg Co . Ir*c a! the Urvversrty 0* Oegan ( ,#900# Oregon The £m&akJoperate* -■ndepandentfy o» fh© Umwertity oftces ** $u4e 100 ©‘ th* f»0 Momo»tal Un*on a/xl«» a member of th© AsteCkatad Press The fm#raitf ft pnvMe property The unlawA* removal or use o* papers «* prosecutab* by *aw Mart agin a Editor Editorial Editor Now* Art Editor Freelance Editor Editor m Chief Ka*> Soto DavtdThom New* Editor Robb*© Raevee Sport* Editor Jett Psva, Supplement* Editor Ion Betb*>e*A> Night Editor Rebecca Merritt Chn* Me*; J»*sta Noe* Katy Solo Associate Editor* Amy Colombo, Sfoden# (jovemm**’? Acl'.v'hm. Marce*ene Edward*. Commu >fy CoAeen Pohfog. hkghm £A*C&xm 4&n*u&rsiho« New* Staff S*#vb .Aabury. Rogna Biown. Melody Corvoy Amy l Desenpert Pnmo Fontana. Gayle Forman Man Garton. Joe Harwood Kns Henry Trevor Kearney. Shannon KUduh, Adam K-ocher Samar-iha Marf.-n M3* McBride. Mar* Ml Tyre P*fr<* Mokird. Be*’ Moeteut. NaMM Montgomery. Anne Mo*«* KiynMd. Sherry Ramey. Natasha Shepard. Paul Van Scan. 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Jenrvter Ro»and, Clayton Y oe Newsroom 346-53 U Display Advertismg 346-3712 Busmesa Office 346-5512 Classified Advertising 346-4343 Oa ■ COMMENTARY Non-voters fueled Recreation Center Robert Mahon Last Thursday (April 27) was a sad day hare at the University, a day none of us students will leam to recog nise, What is known as Measure 7 (the recreation center initiative) passed with a narrow margin of 713 “yes" votes to 675 “no" votes Lift's count the difference there that's a 38-vote difference. There are many sad facets of this newly passed ballot mas sun. one being the actual voter turnout Let's count the voter turnout 71 t people plus 675 people equals 1.388 people w ho voted on this measure. (Tin try ing to explain this in a voice that fils the mental capacity of the people who didn’t vote.) Let's take notice of the 700 extra peo ple who voted for president and not for the said ballot measure Lot's count the difference pist because we're good at adding 700 extra people plus 713 "yes" votes and 675 “no' votes equals a grand whopping toial of 2088 votes Now. a sad figure in and of itself of the total student popu lation. I think those 700 extra people could have made a dif ference Maybe those people were confused, stupid, or sim ply didn't have the time to irk a speck of graphite on a space no bigger than the dirt that resides under their dirty fingernails Or, pen ham e. they may have been perturbed by the jargon itself on the voting sheet, whit h stated blah. blah. blah. blah, blah, thirty I I blah, blah. blah. The word that the author of the Question sheet forgot to add to this measure was the word “years” (that's right, a "typo" of all typos). Even in the ODE's "Hails, rails on ballot initia tives" (April 25). they forgot to tell their readers the true under lying facts of the issue — or did they really forget' I co-wrote a letter to the editor pertaining all the details n! Mea sure 7 and handed it in on April 18. enough time for them to read it a few times over eight days of soggy cereal I waited and watched as my letter never sur faced. My fellow co-writer went to the ODE"s office and talked with the editorial editor IRobbie Reeves! last Thursday (April 27). For some reason, the editor ial editor couldn't find the letter we had written It mysteriously vanished and so goes the world of slanted media My concern now isn't the media, however It is tho people here at the University. The stu dents here are said to lie the most politically active anywhere; we are said to l» edu< ated and right eous But in what direction are we going when we let tho com puter fees In* tagged upon us over the summer with a "no voting” process, when we let the facts of a particular initiative go unsaid or distorted — or never oven seen* Both these devices are politically smart things to do — it's called "lying.” Let's add up all of the political garb students aren't here m the summer, they don't get the chance to vote yea or nay over a wimpy extra 50 bucks each term Now, let s add up all the facts over the "recreation i enter stu dents voted for future students they will never know (a good political tactic). A grand total of 71.1 je-opie voted for (10,000-plus students times ,10 paving years) a total of 4H(i.ooo paying-student years Let's say that nice and slowly wo voted for 120,000 jxn ple (480,000 divided by four) whom we will never know They will he paying for a combined total of 480,000 years, or three times 480.000 terms of this inci dental fen There is no joy in this. No proud ambiance will be reck oned. no true celebration will occur even by the measure cre ators The simple fact is that 713 students voted for a $10 million incidental fee that we w ill never have to pay. We voted for a future 120.000-plus unheard voices who will go unnoticed until the fall of 1997. Tell me. what joy is there in this brutal act of injustice? Most of us have nothing against paying incidental fees, but let them come through us in a demo cratic arena before we cast our votes The Measure 7 creators tned to lie democratic; they made flyers and put a peon in the EMU to give us information. But it is that which lies unsaid on the flyer that does the most harm. I understand that the Uni versity is trying to raise the "standard” compared to other t’ai ific 10 schools, but what sort of standard are we raising — an nthletii facility? Everything they are going to build with our money we already have, except for the 37-foot indoor rock climbing wall. I'd have to admit, the committee who devised that one was creative Why not make it 100 feet high ? Why not climb on some real rocks' What's a' matter, i hieken' If the creators of this measure want to raise the "standard, isn't the best wav to do it through the academia? I would have no trouble paying $23 a term for a i ertain department. Why not charge a $23 per term fee to bring back the education department so we can educate some of our nonvoters' Why not use the money to pay our OPEt workers a decent wage? Why not use the money to pay instructors and professors better wages' Maybe some extra University scholarships Why not use the money wisely, in a way in which everyone will benefit ? For only a catatonic few will the recreation center be catered toward, while the actual voters reap none of the slim advantages Robert Mahon is an English major at the (diversity. ■ COMMENTARY POLICY The Oregon Daily Emerald welcomes commentaries from the public concerning topics of interest to the University com munity. Commentaries should be between 600 and 800 words, legi ble, signed and the identification of the writer must be verified when the letter is submitted The Emerald reserves the right to edit any letter for length or stvie.
