s
MONDAY: Opinion
TUESDAY: Politics
WEDNESDAY: Opinion
THURSDAY: Politics
FRIDAY: Opinion
editorials, letters, commentary and perspective
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IN PERSON: Suite 300, EMU
Enemies of
etiquette:
The usual
suspects
■ OUR OPINION: Diversity takes a terrible turn for
the worse, making our lives a little more difficult
■ ^ verybody would agree being in college has its prob
lems. Besides the many tests, essays and projects re
quired under impending deadlines, many of us have
1 ^financial problems that often force us to juggle mul
tiple jobs outside of our usual class load.
Our lives are not easy. Most people’s aren’t. Stress is a
consistent and integral part of our daily routine. So when
we walk into class and face an onslaught of new, fresh and
completely unnecessary annoyances, one can understand
our frustration.
Irritating people, we have found, come in many shapes
and sizes. “Annoying” as a character trait seems to tran
scend all race, age and gender boundaries. To be annoying,
in a sense, meets one of the University’s goals: to be a harbor
for diversity.
But all accomplishments aside, to be annoying is to be self
ish and ignorant of other students’ needs, and the last thing
any of us want is somebody who just makes our lives harder.
The Emerald, through complex research and surveil
lance, has pinpointed the primary violators of basic class
room consideration and compassion. They are a ragtag
group and must at all costs be avoided, and if possible, held
liable for their actions.
Energetic freshmen: While most first-year students lie
low and survey the scene before speaking out and making
themselves known, this select few begin talking at Orienta
tion and keep talking until they feel they’ve proven them
selves, by which time the whole class wants to send them
back to high school.
Sorority sweethearts: A lively, happy group. It’s just that
we don’t care about what happened at that wild party or
date over the weekend. We don’t care about what “Chad" or
"Josh” did to you. Unfortunately, these girls feel like they
have to tell the whole class about what happened in high,
excited voices. Learn how to whisper.
Sleepers: Snore in bed, in the EMU, on the sidewalk —
but not in class. While we admire your aloofness to the pro
fessor, we don’t need to hear every nasally breath. Besides, it
makes us jealous.
Hygienically confused: These are the bathroom extrem
ists: They either do absolutely nothing to cleanse themselves
or they go way over the edge with their friends Chanel or
CKl. If one is sitting in class and smells either a very fresh or
very processed, chemical scent, the hygienically confused
are near. They annoy you just by sitting there.
I CHRIS HUTCHINSON/Emerald
Profs pals: In a classroom of 100, these therapy cases
seem to think they’re involved in a one-on-one discussion
with the instructor. Personal problems like crashed comput
ers and lost essays pop up in whining, panicky voices. Hint:
If it doesn’t concern the whole class, don’t say it.
An infamous sub-group in this collective is made up of
those few “returning” students who feel the need to be very
loud, obnoxious and utterly meaningless. They love to ask
questions — endlessly. Perhaps they need to prove they be
long in a classroom of younger, less attentive students.
A tip to all the pals: It’s called office hours. Use them. We
don’t want to hear your personal lives unless it helps us.
Social butterflies: First, it was the pagers. Then the cellu
lar phones. Who knows what’s next? All of you who own
these devices, here’s the truth: You’re not that cool. You
don’t have that many friends, and even if you did, they don’t
need to get a hold of you that quickly. Most of us rely on an
swering machines to stagger communications with our
friends. We don’t want to vibrate on each other’s hips all day.
Hint: We’re not closing some big merger; we’re not hus
tling business for our honeys. We’re students, and we don’t
need this much communication.
The offenders of basic classroom etiquette have been iden
tified. Now they need to be educated and alerted to their of
fenses. Perhaps then we can have relative peace in the class
room. All we would have to worry about then is the
boredom.
This editorial represents the opinion of the
Emerald editorial board.
| LETTERS POLICY
The Oregon Daily Emerald will attempt to print all letters containing comments on topics of in
terest to the University community.
Letters to the editor must be limited to no more than 250 words, legible, signed and the iden
tification of the writer must be verified when the letter is submitted.
The Emerald reserves the right to edit any letter for length or style.
P 0. BOX 3159. EUGENE. OREGON 97403
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Opinion Ashley B :. editor Chris Hutchinson, illustrator Brian
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opv chief. Sarah K: • er, Mike
mos Corbin t Garton
Andrew Brack. nek, Joe
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r“ii'1 me: Nicholas Stiffler, directot
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LETTERS
Tax cut okay
For many Americans, the words “tax cut”
have become taboo. “Roads will become pot
holed” and “schools will suffer” are among
the laments when the words are mentioned.
During the 1980s, America received the
biggest tax cut ever, yet roads were still
paved and schools kept teaching. So what is
the problem with a proposal to cut taxes
again? Why are people afraid the govern
ment will cut a program and let us keep our
earned money so that we could take care of
ourselves in our own ways? Have we be
come so hopeless we need to give our mon
ey to people we don't know in the govern
ment and say “you take care of us”?
It would seem to me that no one would
like those people digging in their underwear
drawers, so why allow them to dig in our
wallets? Can’t we as individuals in a capi
talist free market do better at handling our
own money? And since when did this be
come a “scheme”? The people who can’t
grasp this are a victim of a scheme all right,
because the less money we have, the less
control we have and ultimately, the fewer
discussions we can make. No wonder peo
ple are confused.
John Eccleston
Eugene
Smart and safe
Two or three days a week, I run along the
bike paths between the Ferry Street Bridge
and the University footbridge. Now that the
University is back in session, the number of
runners on these bike paths has increased
significantly. Too many of these runners are
lone women.
Please remind your readers that Eugene is
not that safe a place. Lone women have
been attacked and assaulted many places in
this town, including on the bike paths along
the Willamette River, Please ask your read
ers to be stnail and safer by teaming up
with at least on - oteer person when going
out on a run.
odn< Tchaffer M.D., DHt
Eugene