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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 6, 1996)
HI How are you 2 going to celebrate ■ the holidays — 5 Christmas, Hanukah, j New Year’s, etc.? 4 Let us know. J J Jj I j\ 111J j\ editorials, letters, commentary and perspective g BY MAIL: P.O.Box 3159, | Eugene, OR 97403 | BY PHONE: (541) 346-5511 s BY E-MAIL: ode@oregon. ■ uoregon. edu IN PERSON: Suite 300, EMU C2r~p~KStt*ssr Q WHICH LIFE FORMS ARE MOST Threatened by AIR Pollution? '1 I Wb»*—T Overstocked/ | ’96 Secrets | W€ NEED TO REVAMP „ OUR SECuRt TV PROCEDURES. I WAS A BATTERED HUSBAND... I p -.Nicole would often Throw herself into mv Fisis... 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: Jennifer Schmitt Community: Jennifer Schmitt, editor. Doug Irving Entertainment: Nicole Kreuger, editor. Jesse Stephenson Higher Education: Tamyra Howser, in-depth. Laura Cadiz. Beniamin Kwasney Opinion: Ashley Bach, editor. Chris Hutchinson, illustrator Brian Diamond. Larry Haiti. 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, Paul Meznarich, Mike Schmierbach. Kendra Smith Presentation: Dennis Bolt, editor. Matt Garton Photography: Mathew Stiffler, editor. Andrew Brackensick, Joe Bumk, Amanda Erickson, 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. 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 Making amends Thirty-four years have passed since I graduated from the University. It was to have been a time of celebration since I was the first of my immediate family to gradu ate. Though family and friends came, there was no joy for me. Instead, I only had the memory of my tightly-held secret "that I had cheated in order to receive my degree. It all began during fall quarter of my se nior year. I was faced with taking U.S. Histo ry, a class I had dreaded and put off. I took an incomplete to avoid the final exam. But when spring quarter came around, the exam could no longer be avoided. What a surprise it was when, arriving at the professor’s of fice, I was told I could go wherever I wanted to write the exam. Knowing how unpre pared I was, I walked into the women’s lounge, opened my book, took out my notes and wrote the exam. For years, I tried to justify my behavior by blaming the professor for giving me the op portunity to cheat, but in my heart I knew I was responsible and had violated my fami ly’s standard of honesty. Though I was suc cessful in my profession, I often thought “if only they knew the truth. ” After two years of taking an intense moral inventory, I was challenged by the truth that one day I would stand before God and give an account of my life. I also realized that I had violated a sacred trust with my family, friends and university. I knew that I not only needed to tell the truth, but also make resti tution in order to be set free from the conse quences of cheating. With this resolve, I called the University, told the truth and requested a plan of resti tution. Immediately, I experienced great re lief and deep peace. The writing of this letter, as part of my restitution, has given me a new understand ing of what happened when I cheated. Cheating is not a single act without conse quences. For when I cheated I had to cover it with a lie and deceive others into believing I was someone I was not. I had also set in mo tion the principle of “sowing and reaping,” for when one cheats, lies and deceives, he or she will be cheated, lied to and deceived. Recently a psychologist, after hearing my story, told his listening audience I had ab normal guilt that would require years of therapy. Because I was never able to balance out one bad thing with all the good things I had done, he said, 1 couldn’t come to peace with my action. What an outrage. He totally ignored the truth that what I had done was wrong and that I was responsible for my be havior. The psychologist publicly gave permis sion to do whatever we want as long as we balance it out with doing good. This is a lie that has permeated our society, and I am living proof that it does not work. Fol lowing his advice would keep us living the lie, deceiving others and ourselves in or der to believe it. There is only one way to get freedom from the consequences of cheating. It is by telling the truth, seeking forgiveness and making restitution. Linda Russell Alumna, ‘62 Teens need reason I commend Brian Diamond on his wise column regarding drug education (ODE, Dec. 2). He clearly understands one of the fundamental problems with this country’s failed attempts at reducing the problem. If our leaders who create our drug policy were as understanding as Mr. Diamond is of teen drug use, they could perhaps become more useful in their efforts. To add to Mr. Diamond’s observations, I would also like to say that conflicting mes sages also hurt drug education. For exam ple, amphetamine prescriptions for stu dents who allegedly suffer from “attention deficit disorder” do no one any good. This and other socially condoned uses for “good” drugs lead young teens to an inescapable conclusion: certain drugs can be useful to enhance your life or solve a problem. Kids are better learners than we give them credit for. I can understand how many may lose faith in society’s often arbitrary and even hypocritical position that says drugs are okay. Until we create a reasonable ap proach to drug use in this country—includ ing “legal” drugs such as medications, alco hol, nicotine, and caffeine — our children will continue to be confused and suffer from ill-informed decisions. Brendan Kane Law
