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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 29, 1995)
VIEWPOINTS EDITORIALS. OPINIONS. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Senate chooses space station over Americorps OUR OPINION: Slashing the service program hurts ail Americans Mow would you like to earn money for college by helping rebuild America’s inner i dies, teaching disad vantaged children how to read or taking r are of an impoverished senior citi zen t Unfortunately, that's no longer an option The U.S. Senate voted to t ut all funding for President Clinton's Americorps pro gram Tuesday, opting to invest money in a research project to build an orbiting space station instead. The Republic an dmmiul ed Congress has declared war on the nation's poor under the* guise of expense cut ting-budget-balancing and has set its sites on elim inating "wasteful' and "superfluous" programs from the national payroll. While reducing spending is att admirable goal, it is not only misguided, but obscene to conclude that Americorps is "wasteful." It is a program that allows turn-wealthy young people to earn money for college by improving the lives of other Americans Rather than fund tin* pro gram for the requester! S81U million, the cost-conscious Congress approved spend ing $2.1 billion for the spar e station and an additional Si 1 billion to complete the station by 2002. Americorps established one of the few win-win situ ations in federal policy. Stu dents who needed financial assistance could earn it by serv ing their country with out joining the military. While students on the CM Bill protected the nation, Atnerit orps students gave them something to protect. At the same time, the work of Americorps students helped inner-city kids improve their chances of staying irt school and living long enough the attend col lege By not funding the pro gram. the Senate has not only made it more difficult for middle-i hiss Americans to attend college, but it has simultaneously taken oppor tunity out of the hands of the hungry and the home less Our representatives, it seems, believe the poor are not a priority. The flaw in this value judgment, howev er. is lhat by making higher edm at ion less ar - essible to low and middle income families, the number of poor people in ihis t ountry will continue to grow It will also widen the gap between the haves and the have-nots into a chasm. More than half of every tax dollar is spent on defense, social security and interest paid on foreign debts Yet Congress has cho sen to cut the segment of budget that affects the most Americans but costs the least The National Endow ment for the Arts, the Cor poration for Public Broad casting. Medicare, and wol fat!1 have all gone under the Congressional knife. When a governing body begins to plat e the value of technology above the value of people, it no longer repre sents the public it is sworn to serve. Rather than sup porting a program that sought to rebuild America, our Senators decided to start construction in space instead. Now, what was that again about family values? no am l not am n pMntms aa»* uondn saoagn ima* x «v *» kim iw ><m au InwuUa awns *• teWte tx »o Cngar. 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Si vwV«*f4»i »vvi) fr-rt* ~vt «*•">»/« Freshmen: Have fun, live a little and learn "Training ts everything Cauliflower is nothing but cohhuge with a college education ~ — Samuel Clemens When I was a freshman, I know every thing At that age everybody does For the pas! three years I have grad ually (and painfully) learned every thing I missed. So I'm going to pass on all that wonderful knowledge to all you little freshmen whipper-snappers who are now part of this illustrious institution First off. you don't know jack You may tie 18 and invincible but you're still an idiot I don't know how many times I've siren freshmen con vince! they're right, get m a face-off with a pro fessor. You have a high school diploma; the pro fessor has a Ph D. Think about it. Kush during the first week of classes The frats will give you free beer by the gallon Then don't Join. Unless of course you like running around in your underwear with a toilet brush around your neck looking for the soggy biscuit. This isn't hazing It is now referred to as "moti vational training ” If you're joining a sorority, smack any one who asks you how much Daddy makes Don’t j>et the wildlife on 1.1th Avenue Don't [Hi the dogs either If someone asks you fur spare change, ignore them Most of them are young, have good strong backs but are afflicted with the unfortunate disability of being ''moti vationally challenged." Nothing that a haircut, a bath and a little work ethic won't cure. Ahh. the dorms. Oops, I mean "residence halls ” This is n must for all freshmen Don't be a wimp. Stay all year long. It's an experience and an adventure—especially if you live in the Project (a.k a Bean). Don’t think of the rooms as cramped, just really cozy. Rumor has it that the complex was designed by the same guy who drew up the plans for San Quentin. Resident assistants are a nuisance. They're a bunch of arrogant juniors and seniors with deity complexes whose job is to make sure you don't have too much fun. If thev gel persnickety, go buy a Ivag of crickets at a pet store and release them in the KA's room He or she won't be able to sleep for a week If the kill joy is still a prob lem, stack all the furniture you ran find in front of his or her door and go make some mischief. Dorm food sucks. Plain and simple My fresh man year, my roommate thought he was in heaven—all the food he could eat. A few mouths later he realized that he was in culinary hell It's not so much that they try to poison you. they just overcook everything, leave out all spices and flavor and get recipes from the Unit ed States Marine Corp, cookbook or the Culi nary Handbook of the Federal Penitentiaries. Be safe and live off salad, toast and cereal. If you need protein, eat a squirrel. OPINION i mw] mmw If you art; n white, heterosexual male, start apologizing now. Everything is your fault (at least on this campus), so get used to it. Just smile a lot and try not to take it too personally. Use a condom. Sex is groat, but don't Iw an idiot. You get AIDS, you die. There's no cure, and I wouldn't plan on them finding one any time soon. But of course it won't happen to you. You're invincible, know everything, and the person you're with certainly wouldn't lie infect ed. Dying before :t() is a bitch and a complete waste of life, so don't be stupid. Condoms are available at the Student Health Center (across from Oregon Hall at the corner of t;ith Avenue and Agate Street) for free, so grab a handful If you get yourself into a situation where you don't have one. take a romantic cold shower and then run down to the nearest 7 Eleven and buy a box There are also alternatives to intercourse, such as massage and other little goodies, so he creative and imaginative. Getting laid is not the end-all and be-all of human existence. Cheer up, at least you won't have to worry about Mom and Dad thumping on your door asking what in tarnation you're doing with a lioy/girl in your room on a school night Just remember that your roommate has a key. Thus endolh the sermon Above all, remember that you're in college and you will have experiences here you won’t be able to have any where else You will be taught how to think and grow, both from others and yourself, but you must want to learn if you are going to get anything at all from your time here You only get out of this place what you put into it. So make merry, party your arse off and cele brate life. Pull a campus-wide prank. Lord knows we need one (Watch out—-OPS and the campus administration are a hunch of cranky, old farts). A dear friend once put it to me: "You must always be true to yourself." You've only got one life, so make the most of it. /esse / Bohrrr-Clancy, a senior ma/oring in bio chemistry. is a columnist for the Emerald. LETTERS POLICY The Oregon Daily Emerald will attempt to print alt letters containing comments on topics ot inter est to the University community. Letters to the editor must be limited to no more than 250 words, legible, signed and the identifica tion ot the writer must be verified when the letter is submitted The Emerald reserves the right to edit any letter tor length or style
