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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 19, 1996)
Can the Oregon football team still make a postseason bowl game? Let us know. 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 mht-.unninnimrnnmnMifrinrir Prisons are everybody’s responsibility BACKGROUND November 1994: Voters pass Measures 11 and 17, requiring stricter sentenc ing laws and available work for prisoners. June 1996: The Oregon De partment of Cor- I rections pre sents its plan for § 10 new prisons | statewide by the | year 2005. October 1996: The city of Eu- | gene receives a I letter from Gov. 1 Kitzhaber, an- 1 nouncing its in- \ elusion on a list | of possible prison sites. November 16: The state prison | siting authority I comes to Eugene | and Oakridge to f hold public hear- | ings on the pos- | sible prison con- | struction. December 2: The siting au- | thority will sub- | mit a ranked list | of the possible | prison sites to Gov. Kitzhaber. December 17: The governor will announce his decisions. ■ OUR OPINION: Oregonians need to confront the facilities’construction instead of turning away The usual community mem bers and elected officials spoke out on the pro posed prison sites near Mahlon Sweet Airport and Oakridge last weekend and sur prised no one. After the 1994 passages of Measure 11 and Measure 17, ' which created stricter sentenc- J ing laws for convicted felons k and a state mandate to h provide work for prisoners, ( \ Oregon was left with a A prison population set to V double before the end of the century. hast month, Eugene f area residents learned \ they were home to not one, but two of the 22 pos sible sites across the state \ where seven new prison \ f facilities will be built in the next eight years. The Oregon Corrections Facilities Siting Com mittee hit the area on Nov. 16 in its statewide tour of potential sites. In Eugene, 11 people spoke against the facility during a commit tee hearing — citing budget prob lems, construction resources and the ruin of a coun try lifestyle” as chief concerns. In Oakridge, where a prison-work camp is pro posed, citizens worried about the site’s water supply and the potentially nega- ^\a. tive image cast on the communi ty. These concerns are not new. The Siting Committee, which ends its series of city hearings this week, has CHRIS HUTCHINSON/Emerald endured the same types of complaints across the state. Nobody wants a prison in their community. And a seemingly valid list of reasons is al ways brought up — from economic concerns to worries about the city sewage system. But regard less of the justi fication for their beliefs, communi ty members are simply scared. And in a sense, they have a right to be. Nobody wants a large group of con victed felons any where near their home or their family. The mere presence of crimi nals, however contained they are within prison walls, breeds a ratio nal fear. Many citizens fear an inmate may possibly escape, threatening their neighborhood’s security. While this is unlikely, the mere possibility brings up the ugly scenario of a new iy ucc |juauuci, ucai ing havoc along his or her way. But regard ing the fear of a communi ty’s decimated reputation if a prison was built, the ad ditional jobs and revenue to a city outweigh the tacih ty’s possible image problems. While the argument that prisons generally improve a community is a thin one, their construction does have its ad vantages. In Eugene, Lane Com munity College said it would provide training for prison officers with state fund ing. And the Lane Transit District volunteered to con tract with the state to accom modate the larger population and traffic. A medium-security prison and work camp won’t make Eu gene and Oakridge better places, but what is the alternative? Sev en prisons will be built no mat ter how scared Oregonians are. By passing measures 11 and 17 two years ago, voters sealed their own fate. Now they must live with it. Would building prisons out in the unpopulated wilderness of Eastern Oregon solve the prob lem? Unfortunately, no. Prisons need civilization for supplies, resources and labor. But civi lization feels it doesn’t need prisons. Citizens demand more effective law enforcement but are unwilling to help in the ef ion. aimpiy siaiea, more prison ers demand more prisons and there fore, more sacrifice from all Oregonians. Easy solutions are not available. We can’t put our prisons on aban doned islands or ship our violators ot society into space in state-funded rocket ships. Placing prisons in citizens’ “backyards” is not only a possibility but a necessi ty. So whose backyards will they be? Each of the 22 potential sites will try to pass the buck. But eventually, the buck will stop — perhaps even in Eu gene. We need to be ready, not just scared. This editorial represents the opinion of the Emerald editorial board. P-0- 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 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: Ryan Frank Community: Jennifer Schmitt, editor. Christian Hill, Doug Irving Entertainment: Nicole Kreuger, editor. Jesse Stephenson Higher Education: Shaua Cohn, editor.Tamyra Howser, in-depth. Laura Cadiz. Benjamin Kwasney Opinion: Ashley Bach, editor. Chris Hutchinson, illustrator. Brian Diamond, Larry Haftl, Sonja Sherwood 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. Sarah Kickler, Mike Schmierbach, Kendra Smith Presentation: Dennis Bolt, editor MattGarton Photography: Mathew Stiffler. editor. Andrew Brackensick, Joe Bunik, Amanda Erickson, Shannon Kilduff, Chad Patteson Freelance: Lara Pittman, editor On-Line: Nicholas Stiffler General Manager: Judy Riedi 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. John Pauli, Ferenc Rakoczi Newsroom.(541)346-5511 Display Advertising.(541)346-3712 Business Office...(541) 346-5512 Classified Advertising..(541) 346-4343 LETTERS Rash decision I am completely dismayed at your decision to write a retrac tion so immediately to the now infamous Nov. 12 editorial. The decision to so eagerly jump off the bridge into the abyss of political corrrectness is spineless. The question is: Will you remain under the thumb of the Multicultural Center and sacrifice your true opinions on future editorials? The article itself, while ill worded, contains an important topic for students to consider. Does the creation of new stu dent groups branching off from already larger ones aid the ed ucational and cultural stimula tion of students? No, it is only going to require more funding in the long run. If it would help, I would have started my own group a long time ago: Seattle Mariner fans of Hibern ian-Anglo-Saxon descent with out residency in any state in the Union Student Union. The Emerald this year has shown remarkable improve ment to years past. This is es pecially true in the editorials; the one examining classroom stereotypes was outstanding. The scathing review of Clancy Thurber’s!, by Thom Schoen born, was informative yet con tained needed wit. The Nov. 12 editorial, while being bi ased, caused a great deal of re sponse and thinking on the part of students. Why apolo gize? Make sure of your opinions before you print them. But if you can help it, don’t ever say you’re sorry. Egg makes for horrible make up. Gordon Gilbert Undeclared Autzen dangerous As most of us on campus know, there has been a recent student housing boom in the Autzen Stadium area. The Parkgrove, Chaise Village and Duck Village apartment com plexes have attracted many students, including myself, to move into the area next to Autzen. The problem is that while the complexes themselves are safe, the walk to and from cam pus is not. This is especially a problem at night because the lighting on the walking path is weak, and there are no emer gency call boxes along the route. Therefore, a campaign is being mounted to urge the University to install call boxes along the main path and to in crease lighting along this path. We feel this is a needed im provement to help ensure the safety of students who live and exercise in the area. We urge you to support this idea before someone gets hurt. Robert Ackley Political Science Spirit missing On Nov. 9, Autzen Stadium was not filled to capacity, but more than 40,000 were there to support their favorite football team and were definitely into the game against Arizona. It was nice to see after the miser able performance we as “faith ful” fans gave two weeks earli er for the Washington game. The battle on the field against Washington was fought hard by the Ducks. The battle in the stands, however, was no contest. It was over in the third quarter when Oregon fans quit. What a disappointment for an Oregon football team that has given us so much to cheer about in the last few years. Washington fans owned our stadium at the end of the game, with at least four sections still completely occupied by the Husky faithful. To the Oregon football team, I say thank you for showing continued support for each other and your commitment to your individual and shared goals. To the fans, I say take a good look. There is a lot to cheer about with this football team. Billie Nix Portland
