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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 26, 1995)
EDITORIAL Sunscreen key to cancer prevention As the days got longer and students flock to outdoor activities to take advantage of the beautiful sun. they should know they are soaking up more than rays. Dangerous ultraviolet rays r an damage skin and r euse premature aging and skin cancer among other problems when people spend too much time in the sun. Malignant melanoma, basal cell cancer and squamous cell r ancor can all be results of overexposure to the sun. If you have to go out in the sun. wear protective clothing and lots of sunscreen A lot of people think it's glamourous to have a deep, dark tan—but it isn't. When skins begins to create pig men! it is tr\ing to protect itself from harmful sun beams. Tanning beds are no better than the real thing. They r an also cause cancer and premature aging. Skin cancer has become a concern because the ozone layer, which protects humans from the dangerous rays, is thinning. Chemicals such as CFCs, HCFCs and methyl bromide react with chemicals in the atmosphere and cre ate the hole. In iu:t5, one in 1,500 people was diagnosed with malignant melanoma. By 2000. the number is expected to reach one in 90, according to a May 24 ODE article. This is alarming. Skin cancer is dangerous, but it t an lie avoided. The City of Eugene has taken significant steps to help save the ozone. An ordinance, created in the last few months, bans ozone-depleting products. Although the measure is receiving mixed reviews, it is a positive stop in ozone protection. Opponents of the ordinance say Eugene has no busi ness creating such measures because it cannot change the status of the ozone. Although it's true that a city this size cannot make a significant difference on a global lev el. change must start somewhere. All national legislation started at the local level. When other communities see that cities such as Portland, Eugene and San Francisco care enough to enact ozone protection laws, they will follow along. Supporters of ozone legislation hesitantly approve of the Eugene ordinance. Though the law does not have mandatory fines for repeat offenders, it goes one step fur ther to Include i ICFtls in its list of ozone- depleting sub stances. This is a big step in local legislation because fed eral ozone laws do not ban HCFCs. As one of many affected species on the planet, we have a vested interest in protecting the ozone layer. Regardless of whether there is a hole, the skin cancer sta tistics cannot tie ignored. It is vital to preserve our skin, and laving in the sun is not going to do it So when you head for the outdoors this summer make sure you have a bottle of sunsc reen and some common sense, Oregon Daily *0 00* 5i» tuGfttf 0*tG0N*?4M Tr*e Oregon &»*y t mmmkt * pufc**f**J a&fy Mc*^* through * f*f«y <Jwr*»g pm» school * «*.*•• A'-cl TumUjf arxt Thursday du#«g tt*« a-^mmar fry !Ne Oregon 0^t [ m^aM f>ut*s.*. -*g Co , t*x: a! ur*v»r«4y of Oe^/i to9r*'»e Qrftfion Th# operate* <rv$cip«n{iftntty cst the Un■*«* v-ty *■ th oft»ce* at Su«t# 300 ©f th* i it) Memorial Un»o*i anti is a member of SNt Amkx .a?**J I’Ve** Th* tmwatf i% private property Th# untaertul removal or uw of papers m prot«ct4dft6e fry *<#*» £ rtttiv-ifv-Chi** Ka»y s. ^ MAnogtng t tutor Editorial Editor Art Editor t MMianc* Editor MflmU »T40»c, P&vUky LO* 0««rt>WJ»: Ld‘»G* Sp<xt» Editor Supplements Editor Hight Editor Rutwcca Marrs Or* M**.« T m!« Hex* Coftaan P(V>fcg AtftOCiftt* Editor» Amy Columbo. 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W y McO-arta ,M*-'"' 'er ft t d, v 4y1 Yee N««rs/<x>m 346-5511 346-5512 Otapftary AdMrMbvg Advertising 346~37t2 34&*M3 f GOO0MOWNW6, IRRATIONAL nmE AKOO£3)On.„ k w ■ COMMENTARY Investing in people key to success Rep Peter Oefa/io uthing is more important to raising incomes and A. s| living standards in this country than education. The economii (oi ls an* simple The more you learn, the more you earn The lifetime earnings of col lege graduates are significantly higher than non-graduates The gap in average earnings between high school and college gradu ates has doubled from ,19 per cent in 1979 to BO percent in 1993. Education is the clear fault line of economic opportunity in this country That's why the Republican budget is particularly alarming. When Speaker Gingru h and his colleagues released their budget blueprint this week, we finally got an honest look, at what the Contract With America will t ost For students and working families, iht! price is too high As GOP Representative George Radanovich told the Wall Street Journal. "If we had come out with this budget as our ‘Contract,’ they wouldn't have voted us in " The budget plan will devas tate millions of students and their families who rely on feder al education loans for college Of the $35 billion in financial assis tance the Department of Kdu<a tiou plans for grants, loans and work-study programs, the GOP budget proposal would cut $24 billion over the next seven years. We've got to balance the bud get But it's wrongheaded to tar get students, seniors and work ing families while tn« leasing the Pentagon's budget by $92 billion and granting less than 1 percent of the wealthiest Americans (those earning more than S250.000) a $20,000 annual tax break Republicans t hose to deed mate education programs and student aid rather than tighten the belt on defense* spending and make corporations and wealthy Americans pay their fair share of taxes As a re< ipient of financ lal aid who couldn't have attended col lege without help, I'm deeply disturbed by this proposed de investment in our future Some of my colleagues forget tt wasn't long ago when Repub lican Majority Leader Dick Armey, Sen Phil Gramm and House Speaker Newt Gingrich went to s< hool on student loans. What was a good investment then is a good investment now. Student aid is planting a seed not only for an individual, but also for our economic future Students are already being priced out of higher education The total cost of an undergradu ate degree in today's dollars (including tuition, books, room and board) will be about $40,000 for this year’s first year students While Republicans boast of their S500-per child tax cut for the middle class, they hide their intention to make college more expensive Currently, parents who want to help their students go to college must save SHOO a month for the next four years for a public, four-year school — and this is prior to the Republican budget reductions in student aid. Republicans are planning to eliminate the interest subsidy for students while they are in school. This plan will increase a student's total debt by 20 per cent An average student will pay S5.000 more to attend col lege Students who continue on to graduate study would see even larger increases This addi tional cost will hit working fam ilies and poor students espei ral ly hard, forcing many to forego a higher education. The Pell Grant program — once the foundation providing eauat opportunity and access for all students — has declined sharply since 1976, from 4-J |»*r cent to 21 percent of the average aid package. Now, Congress wants to freeze Pell ('.rants at their 1995 level, making the grants lose value each year as the cost of living rises. In addition, the House budget proposal ends the need-based Perkins Loans, affecting more than 700,000 students. And with the elimination of the State Stu dent Incentive Grant. 1,000 ot Oregon’s neediest students would lose their aid. The Republican philosophy is you make the economy grow by concentrating more and more wealth into the hands of fewer and fewer people at the top. Higher education is being slashed by $24 billion to help fund the Republican $045 bil lion (ax cuts, skewed toward the wealthiest Americans Plain and simple, this is a rerun of trickle down Reaganomics. During the trickle-down experiment of the 1980s, the middle class had its incomes go down and its taxes go up while the richest 2 percent had their income go up and their taxes go down Reagan and Hush sliced edu cation funding and we can see who won and who lost. We have the greatest income and wealth gap since the 1920s with the top 1 pert ent of our country having more wealth than the bottom 90 pen ent combined When our students are denied access to higher education, they lose their chance to climb the ladder oi success and the gap widens. We must invest in our people and our students' education. Our competitors have figured this out Germany and Japan invest in education and training They have a closer partnership between government, business, labor and education because they know when they're ail on the same side, their countries win They tee us on how to get the most out of every human Ixting, not just the wealthy The Republican budget will condemn the next generation of Americans to declining incomes and expei tations It continues the impoverishment of America, robbing middle-class families struggling to get ahead for the sake of corporate and upper income tax cuts It is precisely the wrong medicine for what oils our nation Peter DeFazio represents Ore gon's 4th District in the House of liepresentatnes
