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
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■ 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
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the public concerning topics of interest to the University com
munity.
Commentaries should be between 600 and 800 words, legi
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when the letter is submitted
The Emerald reserves the right to edit any letter for length or
stvie.