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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 13, 1996)
editorials, letters, commentary and perspective BY MAIL: P O Box 3159, Eugene, OR 97403 BY PHONE: (541)346-5511 BY E-MAIL: ode@oregon. uoregon. edu IN PERSON: Suite 300, EMU Editorial was not the opinion of the staff The story that ran on the opinion page of Tuesday’s paper was not, in fact, the opinion of the Emerald editorial board. Tuesday’s editorial page was supposed to contain an opinion written by one of our columnists. By 5 p.m. Tuesday, the story had not arrived. To fill the void in the paper, an editorial board member wrote an editorial; it was haphazardly edited and placed on the page. These actions were taken under deadline pressure, but that does not make them acceptable. Normally, editorials are written by the Emerald editorial board. This board is composed of newsroom representatives. Three of these representatives are elected by the newsroom staff. The editor-in-chief, managing editor and editorial editor(s) are automatic board members. The board meets twice weekly to decide which issues will be written about and the positions the board will take on these issues. Usually, deciding editorial stances is done on a consensus basis. However, sometimes consensus is difficult to achieve and decisions are based on voting. Tuesday’s editorial and its misleading authorship indicated we need to reevaluate our editorial board procedures. We have taken preventive measures so that situations like this do not occur ever again. Planning errors and missed deadlines by our columnists will not result in ill-thought-out edits in the future. We, as a board, agree there are a variety of options available when such a situation arises — from running reader letters to adding a syndicated column. We, as a board, regret the mislabeling of the piece as an editorial and apologize for the harm it has caused. As a newspaper, we are obligated to deliver accurate and fair content to our readers. Mislabeling Tuesday’s story as an editorial board piece infringes on this obligation and negatively impacts your ability to trust us. Reaffirming and strengthening our editorial board procedures is also an affirmation of our responsibilities to you, our readers. It is a pledge that we will be a responsible publication. This editorial represents the opinion of the Emerald editorial board. University needs to realize value of ethnic student groups By Steven Asbury and Jennifer Carter Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor W 'e didn’t write it; we don’t agree with it; but we are responsible. The editorial in Tuesday’s paper was filled with racist remarks and demonstrated a lack of understanding about the true roles that ethnic student unions play on this campus. It was wrong, it was insensitive, and we could not regret it more. We all attend a university that is essentially a white student union. Because of this, the many ethnic student unions we have here fill a major gap. They provide safe environments for discussion about The Oregon Daily Emerald is published daily Monday through Fri day during the school year and Tuesday and Thursday dunng the sum mer 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 offices 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. Christian Hill. Doug living Entertainment: Nicole Kreuger, editor Jesse Stephenson Higher Education: Shana Cohn, editor Tamyra Howser, in-depth. Laura Cadiz. Beniamin Kwasney Opinion: Ashley Bach, editor Chris Hutchinson, illustrator Brian Diamond. Larry Haftl. Sonja Sherwood Politic*: Shana Cohn, editor Doug Irving Student Activities: Krisbn Bailey, editor Angie Suchy, Tom Potter Sports: MarV McTyre. editor Andrea DeYoung, assistant editor Chns Hansen. Ryan Frank. Ryan Halvorsen Copy Desk: Thom Schoenborn. copy chief. Sarah Kickler, Paul Mez nanch, Mike Schrmerbach, Kendra Smith Presentation: Dennis Bolt, editor Matt Garton Photography: Mathew Stiffler, editor. Andrew Brackensick. Joe Bunik, Amanda Enckson. Shannon Kilduff, Chad Patteson Freelance: Lara Pittman, editor On-Line: Nicholas Stiffler 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. Ingnd 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. John Pauli, Ferenc Rakoczi Newsroom. Display Advertising . .. Business Office. Classified Advertising (541)346-5511 (541)346-3712 (541)346-5512 (541)346-4343 issues and experiences that people of color face each day as members of the University community — issues and experiences that white members of the community do not have to face. All students can attend the events these groups organize and be a part of the dialogues they initiate. Whether they choose to do so, however, should not be the responsibility of student union members. It is not their responsibility to educate white people about racism. White people need to examine their own internalized racist beliefs. Situations of anger and hurt — such as that which Tuesday’s editorial created — have caused just that. Examining Tuesday’s edit also made us think about what it implies about student fee allocation on this campus. The editorial suggested student unions are inactive and isolationist. This is not true. The University should be a place that fosters various ideas and maintains an atmosphere where all people feel comfortable. Student groups need to exist and receive student fees because they are key to creating a marketplace of ideas. We wholeheartedly support the full funding of student unions. While the Oregon Daily Emerald has reached gender equilibrium, it remains a primarily white institution. It is a reflection of the lack of diversity on the campus, but this is no excuse. Over the next few days, we will all be doing some soul-searching. We realize that fixing racism on this campus and in our institution cannot be accomplished just by going to events on cultural diversity. This is part of a longer process of education that the Emerald will implement in staff meetings and in daily newsroom procedures. It is our duty to make sure that future editorials and news stories do not perpetuate racist stereotypes or attitudes. Next term the Emerald will be adding a multicultural issues reporter to the staff. Applications for this position can be picked up at our office in EMU Suite 300 beginning next week. This column represents the opinion of the editor and managing editor of the Oregon Daily Emerald. Combating prejudice some guidelines USTEN to yourself. Know your prejudices and learn to recognize them when they emerge in your thoughts or actions. CHALLENGE yourself. Ask your self if your prejudices are inappropriately guiding your thoughts or actions. Answer honestly. EDUCATE yourself. Read about, talk about and talk to people who are different; people about whom you are likely to develop prejudices. Learn as much as you can so that you’re better able to recognize and challenge your prejudices. ACT against prejudice. When you see it, in yourself or others, do something about it. — Keith Woods Journalist LETTERS Ignorant journalism First of all, we would like to express our utter disgust and frustration with the edito rial regarding the problem of racism on campus. It is true that we, as students of color, must deal with problems of intoler ance and prejudice in our daily lives. How ever, it is not true that we are falling short of what is needed to educate the campus and community. Perhaps if some of the editorial staff members, as well as other students on cam pus, would take the time to attend some of the ethnic student union activities, they would know we do not simply entertain ourselves, nor do we cater to our own com munities. The editorial you printed dis played the exact type of racism we are struggling to overcome through the efforts of cultural and political programming. Your headline. “Racism is a problem that needs teamwork, not just teams” is a con tradictory statement in itself because the article not only puts down student union efforts, but also stereotypes students of col or. Furthermore, if the editorial staff knew of the coalition-building between the stu dent unions that has grown over the last few years, it would not make blanket state ments about being isolated. The very fact you have written such an ignorant editorial through irresponsible journalism exempli fies how certain members of our campus community fall short of reaching out for the education we are “supposed to pro vide.” That is a major misconception. Students of color are not here to do the bulk of mul ticultural education. That is the job of the numerous departments on campus who continually fail to represent our experi ence. We are dedicated to our causes and work tirelessly with little recognition. Moreover, our struggles do not end at the University, where our first priority is to graduate like every other student here. In the future, when attempting to exam ine the problems of racism on this campus, don’t spew your rhetoric in an inflammato ry manner. Know what you are talking about. For example, what in the hell is an "Hispanic-American”? Andrea Adams Political Science Angelica Romero Sociology and Psychology
