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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 11, 1996)
VIEWPOINTS fOilORiAiS OPlMiONS UTTIRS TO IMMOHOR Election’s promotion vital for its success ■ OUR OPINION: The ASUO primary elections should have been better promoted this year Critics of the voting sys tem in this country %ay that people make uninformed choices at the polls because they don't understand the issues or know the candi dates. The ASUO elections Is a c hance for students to pick new leaders fur the ( tuning year who will make deci sions at tout programs fund ing and policy. The elections officers in the ASUO are responsible to make sura people get the information they need to make informed choices. This year they failed. Most students were not a were an election was tom ing up until it was time to vote Voting sign* didn't •how up on campus until thi« wiwk, The elections guide pub lished by the ASUO amid have done * better job edu eating student» The guide, whit n came out in Tue* day's Eitwmld, contained intorral dates and timet and left out inhumation Si* event* were listed on the front of the guide One event was a primary presi dential face-off during the intermission of the Naked David tlasselhoff concert. The guide listed no time Students who did not go to the concert were forced to wail with no indication of how long A deflate had the wrung time and the senate forum had the wrong date. With these mistake* and the lack of advertising, many students are not as informed as they should be. Lawn sign saturation creates controversy ■ OUR OPINION The flap over campaign signs is unfair and inexcusable Kijual accent is vital to all ASUO campaigns It allows all i amiidates to campaign fairly ami equally. The lawn signs around campus provide prime advertising space and am coveted among the tickets. But many of the candi dates were surprised when they found out the lawn sign spare was not handed out fairly. One campaign was allowed to reserve all 50 signs for all available days. This is not the fault of that campaign bill of I bo (flection* board and Univer sity officials The at hcduling office need* to find more iimim for the sign* Expanding the field to 200 spate* would allow more candidates access A per-candidate limit should also be implemented to prevent a monopoly. Each candidate could receive five signs, and if by a certain date the rest were unreserved, the office could open up the remaining spare* This way. all the candi date* would be able to put up and utilise signs. * shame Tire's a n«U movement to bring a sense of sHawfi back to society, to deter practitioner! of pernicious anti social activities by means of acute personal embarrassment ^ Cdh always Hope _ »«*■> Jwu# K MV r am a CCO wUO PA’D ***»!/ Jt9o *«*f i fSAUSlVTl/AH k m WaHKf%\ fa Secularism seduces students to sleep L«*t Sunday wa» Raster, the crowning moment of On* liturgical ytm (or Chris* ****** for many ai I hr Uni vanity thu wu (u*» another ordinary day Thought* of (kxl and salvation ware* the furtha*t thing* from most *tu d*nt*‘ mind* My fnand* *j«*ni Earner morning recovering from another night at the bar* My fraternity uuoa rmwy amt rtoty Saturday initiating tww mem b*rs. drinking b»w and doing lots of Mnri stuff And no. than? wasn't a whole lot of rtdi gton going on there Indeed Easier Sunday wu vary much a day of rest for moat students it >tgnlfi«d their parpatual slumber from r**fl«i •ng tut religion and their own mortality OPINION young p ho) *r» declare that they have no need (or the dag mettc rule* o( Christianity that ought constrict their lifestyles A* mme friends have told me. “I’m sure I II go to (hutch when I'm older “ For now, they- will ingly remain self sedated (mm question* they kiw* must someday be answered Christ's passion speak* to the human tenden cy to opt (or spiritual slumber After )esus shared the last Supper with hts disciples. he went into the liar den of Gethsemane to pray l»e knew he would be executed the next day and was quite distressed about what the future held for himself ami for humanity. He was stated and didn't want to be atone }e«ua asked his friends to stay awake and pray during his last moments But. one by one. each disciple fell asleep This was a terrible blow to Christ These were the men whom he had taught and loved He bed spoken to them about compassion and under standing They had nodded and said that they would follow But at the dark hour when fetus was about to be handed over to the Romans, his friends failed him At the sight of his sleeping disciples. Jesus asked, dismayed . "Could you not keep watch with me for one hour? Watch and prey that you may not undergo the tart The spirit is willing, but the flesh is week. " Every day. University faculty members exhibit this tendency to rest without religion Christian* ate angrily denounced by napping academics who choose to see Christianity through a narrow Inqu is 111 on/( Irusade lens. To be academic means to be "above" believing in Christian "mythology.” or so the thinking goes Many profeeaor* claim that feaus' resurrection is no more teal than pagan lore They demand to aee historical proof and claim that none exists Of course their attacks always leek the sens! livlty. understanding and rwjx*t for other ide ologiet that those of the academy so often pro fa**. Hostility. anger and vehemence form the cornerstone of their diatribe. A* they *ieep with out spirituality, these "rational actor*" make their secular insecurity apparent. Academic distaste for Christian teaching was manifest in last week's Newsweek article Rethinking the Resurrection " The article focused on non-believing scholars who claim that "the Resurrection is an embarrassment to the modern mind " The article stated that the resurrection can never be proven because no one actually wit nested its occurrence. Yet we know that while Jesus was dying on the cross, a soldier's lance pierced his heart, causing blood and water to flow from his chest It was the Roman custom at the tinie to break the legs of the esc*ruled'* body to confirm death However, this was unnecessary because it was obvious to lainginos, the* Roman centurion, that Jesus was already dead Finally, Pilate released C2hri*t’s body only after he was certain that it was lifeless We alto know that three day* later Jesus began apfieartng in Jerusalem and Galilee* After the resurrection, Christ was seen by Mary Mag dnlene. Peter and the other apostles and a c rowd of SOll people. Thus, if we know that Jesus was dead and that h» appeared incarnate to so many after the cm dfixion. the fact that no one witnessed the actu al resurrection is irrelevant Of course this all depends on scriptural accu racy. which secular historians challenge Make no mistake, this debate occurs for a ree son The resurrection is a mystery God give* us clue* and a free will to interpret them any way we choose. Like some historians, we can deny the resurrection until the day we dies When the debate ends, the fact remains that Christianity. lika other religions, is s matter of faith. Last week. Faster came and went with the usual silence that this secular University encourages. Holy Week did not awaken must students from their slumber, nor did it end the intolerance toward Christian theology that has become commonplac e in the academy Christians celebrate Easter because we believe that death is not the end of our Journey We believe in Jesus' passion, death and resurrect ton because we hope to one day be brought to new life with Christ Like the apostles, our road is fraught with regression and sedation. We took to a personal resurrection that will occur only after we arise from our sleep Aetti) Cunningham, a senior ina/onnt in English, is o columnist for the Emerald. E mail keithii^otvgon uanrgon edu
