VIEWPOINTS
nmoftiAis opim
HIlf R$ TO TMf i OHOR
Kelton plays politician
by going with the flow
■ OUR OPtNION: Out
ASUO vice president
follows public opinion
like a hungry puppy
Zachary Kellon is wail on
his way to bacuming a
politician.
In his public statements
about funding the Oregon
(Mivnwntator. the ASUO
vie® president has offered
i bn most dramatic and dis
turbing reversal of opinion
to be seen in student gov*
nrttmnni this year
In a Inttnr responding In
an Emerald columnist's call
to defund Ib« publication
two weeks ago. Kellon
expressed his desire to son il
stripped of its student-fee
funding
tin said he wanted the
student body to vote on the
(Umunentator'* budget — »
ram procedure for any stu
dent group on campus —
and was "confidant that stu
dents' outrage at the mags
cine's content (would) result
in dramatic editorial change
or removal of the publica
tion from the ASUO bud
g««"
Kellon also threatened to
veto any ASUO Programs
finance Committee decision
that did not pul the (Umi
numtaloi'a budget on the
ballot.
But we heard a different
Kellon at the journal's PFC
hearing Monday night.
"I must emphasise that I
do not. in a personal or pro
fessional cajHM tty, want to
see the Coaunt'ntalnrbudget
placed OH the ballot." he
wrote in a statement to the
committee, adding that he
would ‘be comfortable''
with the any decision the
PPC might make.
(antic again7 fn fewer than
two weeks. Vic* President
Kellon made a 1 BO-degree
turn In the end be made the
right decision, hut that dons
n'l excuM hi* moralconvio
Hon-of the day conduct
In the mail that followed
his initial statement. the
Knuwilct« editorial pages
were filled with letters crili*
cixintt his position It was
soon clear that the vice pres
ident did not speak few
everyone, not even his own
president.
In his second statement,
written because he saw
whic h way the wind was
blowing. Kelton wrote that
the first letter was com
posed in "frustration” with
the? way previous student
government committees had
decided controversial bud
gets such as the Comanmla
tot
He sard the content of his
letter had been "harsh." but
argued that he did not want
the members of the PFC to
think that he had a "lack of
rasped or recognition" for
their work
Hut what else could it be?
He threatened to override
any dec ision they made that
didn't satisfy his demands
He then dismissed any con
cerns the PFi: might have
about the Comimnlatar’*
First Amendment rights at
an "age-old" argument
against censorship — an
argument kelton apparently
hails/felt had outlived its
usefulness
Kelton's change of heart
would seem less troubling if
he hail admitted he was
wrong, or even that he
understood why he should
n’t carelessly interfere with
the fee allocation process
that he now claims io hold
"In the highest regard ."
We can only hope that
kelton will choose his
words more larefully in the
future and resist throwing
his weight around without
thinking it through — and
lie glad that this time, public
opinion was not on his side
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ODE eats words right off an EMU plate
Your opinion regarding healthy food
choke* in the EMU (ODE, Feb 8} was
timely and quit* possibly ton accurate
|Hwo4tl Administration and the EMU
Boanf of Dim tor* malt mi an- needed to make
significant change* in our food twvioi offering*
and physical design. and in ihe *vstems that
iuMxat tervtce (wlivwy — four year* ago
!Tw initial response wai to hire an architec
tural firm to review design option* and a market
research firm to conduct a campus-wide
remarch study that would a*ai*t in the identifl
cation of food offering* desired by the nwrnnu
nily
The revolt* of threw initiative* were major far
***** in the EMI Hoard of Director* requesting a
Itttb more than U million from th# Oregon
State System of Higher Education student build
ing fee fund The board was successful in their
request and we received the fund* last summer
the process of addressing the concerns luted
ui your opinion has already begun
This fail the EMU worked with Thomas Rlcxa
Associates to condui t focus group* leading to
the creation of a market research instrument that
asked the campus community what they valued
in food aarricst. what theu preferences were in
food concept*, physical environment and much
more The response rate was mu optional
We had hoped to receive M)0 usable survey
responses (a number beyond the amount neces
sary to provide data that could he interpreted
with a high level of accuracy).
We received almost 1,100 usable responses
We are just beginning to receive the final tabula
lion of that information
The process of changing food eervice concepts
in response to community needs will be very
COMMENTARY
challenging and inclusive.
Currently, two groups made up of students,
faculty and staff are reviewing the accumulated
data by listening to audio tapes of the focus
group*, reviewing the literature, visiting other
campuses and scheduling open meetings to gam
more input
The**> subcommittees and the final committee
that will help guide the architect and the EMU
already realize that the sources available — the
$■* 02 million will nol be enough to meet all
of our needs They are aitemntmg to make these
funds stretch as fat as possible
The ideal time line is to finish initial planning
this spring term, select an architect later in that
term and begin renovations nest summer The
process may not fas as fast as we would like, but
it needs lo be thorough
Until a renovated service is available, please
visit and try some of our newer options Sarnu
rai Duck, a locally produced "bento" boxed
lunch; our new fresh salads, including Chicken
Caesar. Traditional julienne. Thai Chicken or
Shrimp Caesar (all made fresh daily); our
expanded deii sandwich bar, as well as Little
Caesar's. Taco Time, and the salad bar and
Asian cuisine available in the Skylight
We may not be there yet. but we are on the
way to providing food service products that are
customer driven
Dutly Millet It Director of the Erb Memorial
Union
UTTfRS
Experience Learning
It seem* unfortunate that a* a
•indent *o interested in learn
in* about other culture*. Lyon*
ha* apparently not looked
beyond tha cultural identities
of fits professor*, in the words
of his textbooks. to “learn*
[one. Feb 14)
learning it an interactive
process that reouire* the active
participation of the recipient
The University may not have
as many professors of color aa
Lyons would desire: however,
the university environment
provides ample opportunity for
people to experience diversity
and leant from its offerings
Obviously. Lyons has over
looked the International Stu
deni Association and its associ
ated functions: the numerous
cultural nights sponsored by
the Indonesian. Malaysian and
Chinese student organizations
(just to name a few); and differ
ent lecture series in various
departments around the Uni
versity,
Furthermore, if Lyons found
the University so lacking in
diversity that he felt his educa
tion was suffering, perhaps he
should have sought his own
opportunities to experience
other cultures first hand and out
side the confines of academia
Lyons himself commented
that history is not an objective
process, so we would think he
would actively seek the chance
to form hi* own opinion*
Back to the issue of the cul
tural identities of Lyon*' pro
fessors. we are dismayed by his
insinuation that because the
majority of University profe*
*or* are of "European-Amen
can" descent, they all represent
the same ideas
Of course the goal of "multi
culturalism" is good, and we
hope the University strives to
create a campus of diverse
thought and experience, but it’s
unfair to degrade the rich envi
ronment of ideas that already
exists.
Sera Feed
Institute ot Molecular Biology
Joseph Tufa
Biology