VIEWPOINTS
fOtTQRlAlS OPINIONS LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
‘Oregon Commentator’
tests diversity dogma
■ OUR OPINION: The
journal shoe*d be allowed
to keep student-lee
funding
If the cement of the On*•
gon Commentator offends
you. you're not alone In
this campus hut tied of
bleeding-heart liberalism,
the conservative Journal of
opinion remains an anom
aly. an aberration and a
class-A button pusher
The Commrntator has
attacked or offended almost
every campus group at one
time or another and in the
process has made more than
Sts share of enemies.
Yet, despite being on the
rec eiving end of the publica
tion's venom, almost every
one agrees that the Com
turn la far has the right to
print its opinions. The bone
of contention, however, is
that the publication is subsi
dised with mandatory stu
dent foe*
Tonight. lh« Programs
Finance Cofflmiti(>» will
convene in the EMU to
eutnioi thi* question
Should all University stu
dent* in* forced to pay for a
publication that dews not
represent them and att.e ks
their belief systems?
The answer ' Absolutely,
journals of opinion have
never professed to represent
the views of the majority,
nor am they designed to pre
sent a balanced analysis of
the world's occurrences
They are not reoulred to be
entertaining, enlightening,
educational or intelligent
They can do and lie all of
these things, of course, but
they also have the right to
be wrong, sophomoric and
spiteful.
The First Amendment
gives everyone the right to
air their ideas and opinions
in a public forum This free
dam has spurred revolu
Hon* and civil fight* move
ment* and has allowed that
elusive entity called truth to
enter the public conscious
ness
Some opponents of fund
ing the (ktinmetUalor mv
that its content conflicts
with th« University's
requirement that all student
funded groups maintain the
educational objective* of
this institution. Hmrmhl
columnist Keith Cunning
ham and others have said
that the Commtmlalor%
stance on women and
minority issue* does not
meet the University's pro
diversity and student safety
goals,
♦ UM' ianjl , KlkK II Ml
not, also moans embracing
conservatives, chauvinists,
and racists. It means sup
porting the expression of
ideas we And abhorrent
This is the diversity sensi
tivity that hurts litis Is
when the mettle of our dug
ma is tested
A St 30 Vice President
Zachary Knlton has suggest
ed that student-fee alloca
tion for the Commentator be
put to a popular vote Not
only is this a cowardly abdi
cation of executive response
.bilily, it is antithetical to the
ideals of the First Amend
ment and a liberal arts edu
cation.
The opinions of the
majority never need protec
tion It is the minority voic
es that must rely on the
Constitution to make them
selves heard
The ideas expressed on
the Commentator's pages
am clearly In the minority.
But if we cannot stand up
for the right to express
unpopular opinions, if we
do not permit offensive
ideas to I** given a forum,
then we. not the Comnwnta
tor, are the enemies of diver
sity.
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Utility tax could improve Eugene for all
Finding solutions to complex mm ml prob
lem* is »v« easy, but once in a while a
truly great idea due* coma along Imag
ine helping as many m 220 homeless
and low income families find permanent
affordable housing every year Not jurt 220 fann*
lie* this year, but an additional 220 every year
lor the neat 10 year*
Now imagine that all It would take t* one cup
ol coffee from each household per month
If the proponed Eugene utility tax it panned
(text month, that la what wilt happen.
A vote-by-mail election will begin neat week
to decide if Eugene resident* and businexset
will be charged a one--percent tax on their uae of
electricity, water, tower, natural ga* and cable
TV The exact amount customerxpay depend*
upon bow much they cotmttne The average res
idential customer without cable TV will pay
about OS cent* per month Household* with
expanded coble wrvkM may pay about Jl l»
(wr month A latte co*ts more
The tax would raise an emanated $1 t million
per year. Ninety percent of the money will he
dedicated to providing affordable housing to
home lex* and low-income families The other
ten percent will be used to help low-income
families pay their utility Nils
Advocates project that the tax will provide
enough wed money to ImiId ISO low income
rental units and 20 low-income houses each
year m addition to rehabilitating another SO
atnit*
One erf the best features of the proposed la* it
that instead of creating another bureaucratic ml
hob lo pour the money down, the proceeds will
go la nonprofit organisations, such as St Vin
cent tte Paul, who have a proven record in pro
viding subsidised housing
Opponents of the proposal have four main
objection* Kugene shouldn't have to take the
lead on solving the affordable housing problem,
the tax would help create more low-income
housing in areas of the city that are already
resisting such housing, the tax is a form o( sales
tax: and the tax will be a burden to people with
fixed or low incomes.
People on low or fixed incomes will have to
pay the tax. but ten percent of the revenues
raised will be used to help pay the utility bills
of those who are in need
Characterising the proposed utility tax as a
"sales tax" is misleading The utility tax would
be added to monihly utility bills and collected
by utility providers as part of their normal col
lections
There is no added burden on every shopkeep
er in the city to collec t a penny from every dol
lar every- day or lo fill out complex and audited
forms every night Consumers won't have to
come up with an extra penny every time they
spend a dollar, and no governmental bureaucra
< \ w ill lie (rested to collect those pennies
As to the first two objections. If* time people
in EugutM stopped and thought about what it
means to be part of a community*.
OPINION
Simply put. Eugene must
take the lead in solving the
affordable housing problem
because it is a serious problem
in Eugene — our community.
To those who fear their
neighborhood will be polluted
by people with low incomes,
remember that “there, but for
the graie of God. go I " Eugene
is a small city, it only takes a
few minutes to go from one end of Eugene to the
other, and ail of our neighborhoods are intimate
ly bound to each other.
Treat people with the respect they deserve as
fellow humans and they are more likely to
respond in kind than to bite your hand off
Treat people like animals or outcasts, and no
neighborhood wilt be safe
Everyone needs adequate food, clothing and
shelter to live wtlh dignity. Most people in our
community are fortunate enough to meet those
needs But an estimated 1.200 people in Eugene
(about one percent of the imputation) are home
less Another 20 percent of all Eugene house
holds are classified as “very tow income"
(earning less than 50 percent of the median
income) and in danger of becoming home less
With the help of the community. Food for
Lane County and other agencies are able to pro
vide many of those people with enough food to
at least survive on
With the help of the community. Si. Vincent
de Paul and other agencies are able to provide
many of those people with enough clothes to
avoid rampant public nudity.
Affordable housing is a much bigger ticket
item Until now. not even the most concerned
members of our community were able to make
any significant dents In this situation Now
there is a possibility, for about one dollar per
household per month.
One last observation. Just before the special
senatorial election, the ASUO ran a successful
voter-registration drive. And then most of the
new voters failed to actually vote Given the
choices, I don't blame them But this election is
different Students can have a major impact on
solving the homeless problem in Eugene Now ts
the time for them to get off their collective asses
and make a real difference.
It is time for them to vote.
Larry Haftl. a senior maformg in journalism. « o
columnist fat the Emerald