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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 10, 1996)
i MONDAY: Opinion TUESDAY: Politics WEDNESDAY: Opinion THURSDAY: Politics FRIDAY: Opinion a voter’s guide to the 1996 election and life on the campaign trail Which US. Senate candidate will you vote for on Nov. 5. Why ? Let us know. Senate candidate speaks out on education Editors Note: The Emerald had an opportunity to interview U.S. Senate candidate Gordon Smith by phone last week. The Republican answered education questions that are key concerns to students. His opponent, Tom Bruggere, was featured Tues day. By Doug Irving Community Reporter Gordon Smith recently described his stance on issues affecting stu dents and higher education. His an swers appear verba tim below. Smith, the presi dent of the Oregon State Senate and a legislator since 1993, is running for U.S. Senate for the sec ond time. He lost earlier this year to Democrat Ron Wyden in the special Senate elec tions following Bob Packwood’s res ignation. ISSUE: Student Loans ■ The Federal Student Loan Program has offerings such as flexible repayment op tions and speeds up the rate in which stu dents receive their loan checks. Q Do you support this program? A Yes I do. I think whatever we can do ■ to reduce the cost of higher educa tion we need to do. We need to make it more affordable and accessible. This is one of the many ways to do that. ISSUE: Access to Higher Education QDo you believe equal access to ■ higher education is a right for all people? A Yes, because higher education is the ■ key that unlocks the future. The fu ture that includes the American dream COURTESY PHOTO needs to be available to all people who will show the initiative and go the extra mile with higher education. QHow would you ensure equal ac ■ cess to higher education? A You do it by keeping college tuition ■ down and making sure that the fed eral government does its part in that effort with college grants and loans. In my case, as state Senate president, I helped pass the Oregon Education Endowment, which in the years ahead will help to provide col lege funding for thousands of Oregon stu dents. ISSUE: Financial Aid ■ In the last 20years, the government has shifted the balance of federal financial aid from grants to loans. While in 1975, federal aid consisted of 20 percent loans and 76 percent grants, in 1993, it was 80 percent loans and 20 percent grants, ac cording to the Oregon Student Associa tion. Q Would you take pro-active mea ■ sures to reverse this trend? A I believe that a legitimate role of gov ernment is public education. Head Start to higher ed. QWhat kind of pro-active measures ■would you take? A I would resist any cuts to students, ■vote grants and would argue for just the reverse. Or giving students more of an ability to graduate without the burden of more debt or greater debt in their life. We need to get a start that isn’t laden with years of school debt. I think, actually, that the president’s program of community service is a good way to help people to earn college tuition. Q Could you describe that program? Alt’s his AmeriCorp program where ■you can give community service. It's like Peace Corp in exchange for college tu ition. ISSUE: Debt Burden ■ Students continue to increasingly bor row money to get through college, leaving them thousands of dollars in debt. The av erage University student graduates with $17,500 of debt. QDo you have any long-term solu ■tions to the issue of debt burden? A I think by reversing the trend you ■ identified earlier and take more in the form of grants is the way government should do that. And holding down tuition. ISSUE: Measure 47 ■ The Legislative Revenue Office esti mates that local governments and schools together will lose an estimated $1 billion statewide in the 1997-99 biennium if Mea sure 47 passes. The measure would re duce and limit property taxes, local rev Turn to SMITH, Page 3 BIOGRAPHY s ■ BORN: May, 1952 in Pendleton, Ore. ■ RESIDENCE: Pendleton, Ore. ■ EDUCATION: j Bachelor’s degree in history from Brigham Young University; law de- I gree from South western University. ■ CAREER HISTORY: President and CEO of Smith Frozen Foods, a frozen vegetable packer. ■ POLITICAL HISTORY: Elected to Oregon Senate in 1992. Chosen as Senate minority leader in 1993. Elected Sen- | ate president after ! the 1994 elections. ■ PLATFORM: Includes restricting federal regulation of education and giving more power to the state. Strongly supports i tax relief for work- j ing families. Sug gests a $500 tax credit per child for families with in comes below $100,000. Will strive to balance the use of national I P.O.BOX 3159. EUGENE. OREGON 97403 The Oregon Daily Emerald is published daily Monday through Fri day during the school year and Tuesday and Thursday during the summer by the Oregon Daily Emerald Publishing Co. Inc., at the University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon. A member of the Associated Press, the Emerald operates independently of the University with of fices at Suite 300 of the Erb Memorial Union. The Emerald is private property. The unlawful removal or use of papers is prosecutable by law Editor-In-Chief: Steven Asbury Managing Editor: Jennifer Carter Night Editor: Doug Irving Community: Jennifer Schmitt, editor. Jean Bond Entertainment: Nicole Kreuger, editor. Jesse Stephenson Higher Education: Kristine Sohnrey, editor. Tamyra Howser, in depth. Benjamin Kwasney Opinion: Ashley Bach, editor. Chris Hutchinson, illustrator. Brian Diamond, Larry Haftl, Sonja Sherwood Politics: Shana Cohn, editor. Doug Irving Special Projects: Tiffany Smith Student Activities: Kristin Bailey, editor. Angie Suchy, Tom Potter Sports: Mark McTyre, editor Andrea DeYoung, assistant editor. Chris Hansen. Ryan Frank. Ryan Halvorsen Copy Desk: Thom Schoenborn, copy chief. Trevor Kearney, Sarah Kickler, Mike Schmierbach, Kendra Smith Presentation: Dennis Bolt, editor. Cosmos Corbin, Matt Garton Photography: Mathew Stiffler, editor. Andrew Brackensick, Joe Bunik, Amanda Erickson,Shannon Kilduff, Chad Patteson Freelance: Lara Pittman, editor. On-Line: Nicholas Stiffler, direc tor. General Manager: Judy Riedl Advertising Becky Merchant, director. Anne Amador, Lee Yen Beh, Marco Ching' Yujin Chi, Matt Johnson, Anne Miller, Trina Shanaman, Rose Soil, Matt Solomon, Greg Walsh Classified: Tara Sloan, manager. Natasha Lumpkin, Debbie Levy, Heather Moye Production: Michele Ross, manager. Ingrid White, coordinator. Shawna Abele, Laura Daniel. Susan Head,Trevor Kearney,Tara Knight, Melissa Lebahn, Molly McCanta, Allison Stormo, Mike Young Business: Kathy Carbone, supervisor. Judy Connolly Distribution: John Long, David Lee Newsroom.(541)346-5511 Display Advertising.(541)346-3712 Business Office.(541)346-5512 j'j f J ±11 u. Lr. - «J A look at some of the 23 ballot measures - in the Nov. 5 election THE MEASURE WHAT IT WOULD DO Would give crime victims rights such as ex panding admissible evidence and limiting pretrial releases. Applies to crimes where in dividuals are victims and where people of Oregon are victims. Victim could be present/ heard at each critical stage of the legal process if the person charged is also pre sent. Victim could receive payment from a person convicted of an act that caused them financial loss. Defendant may be convicted of murder by and 11-to-one jury vote of guilty. Defendants’ rights would be the same as those granted under the United States Constitution. ARGUMENTS FOR Criminal defendants have many legal protections dur ing the judicial process and victims deserve a comparable set of rights. All relevant evi dence should be heard in ju dicial proceedings. People accused of serious crimes should be held in jail until trial to protect the victim, unless the judge is certain no addi tional crimes will be commit ted. ARGUMENTS AGAINST Takes away important state rights that protect people against govern ment invasions of privacy and re places those safeguards with less protective federal rights. Has more to do with taking away privacy rights than helping crime victims. The Ore gon constitution and statutes have established a bill of rights for Orego nians that suits their particular needs. Most of the measure’s provisions that address the concern of victims are already required by Oregon law. THE MEASURE WHAT IT WOULD DO The constitution now provides that laws for the punishment of crime must be based on principles of reformation and not vindictive justice. The measure would delete that language, and insert language stating that laws for the punishment of crime must be based on the following principles: “Protection of society, person al responsibility, accountability for one’s actions and reformation.” ARGUMENTS FOR Will uphold public safety while making criminals accountable and responsible. Changes don't prohibit rehabilitation efforts, but will expect criminals to take personal responsibility for their actions. The U.S. Constitution protects against cruel and un usual punishment, so there should be no concern over re moving existent language. ARGUMENTS AGAINST The measure is not needed because it restates a long-standing interpreta tion ot the existing constitution. The language is unclear and while adding several motivations for punishment that may be used, raises the question of whether vindictive justice is an ac ceptable motivation for punishment. The goal of adding criteria for punish ment could be better achieved through statute.
