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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 6, 1997)
Should Ebonics be taught in the Oakland school system? Let us know. editorials, letters, commentary and perspective r 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 For collegiate success, follow The Rules Down with academia! Frisbees and fun times are the true keys to a complete college career It’s the focus of a pop-culture phenome non. It’s the origin of a mass movement of women determined to “get the ring. ” It’s sold hundreds of thousands of copies and recently shot to No. 1 on The New York Times How To bestseller list. It’s The Rules: Time-tested Secrets forCaptur ing the Heart of Mr. Right, a thin, 174-page Ashley Bach paperDacK tnat nas changed the face of dat ing for years to come. The self-help book, by native New Yorkers Ellen Fein and Sherrie Schneider, lists 35 “rules” for snagging the man of your dreams. With commandments like "Don’t Call Him and Rarely Return His Calls” and “Don’t See Him More than Once or Twice a Week,” one can see why the hand book has been the object of satire and hu mor by columnists nationwide. While the applicability of such a book on the University campus is intriguing (1 real ly can’t see it going over too well), I’m more interested in the concept of rules. After be ing in college for a year and a half, I, like many other students before me, have be come aware of many unspoken but unwa vering laws for collegiate life. Fein and Schneider’s idea of throwing a group of rules together into one volume is a good one and has inspired me to do the same. Unfortunately, because of space limita tions, only a brief sampling of The Rules: Time-tested Secrets for Graduating from College Unscathed, Accepted and Exactly Like Everybody Else can be printed here. Look for the full-length version in local bookstores soon. 1. Coffee and Cafes: The Perfect Combi nation It really doesn’t matter how much caf feine you drank before college or how many cool hang-outs you frequented; by the end of your first term, you better be drinking coffee nightly— especially for those late-night study sessions (See Rule < #4). And the local watering-holes better be seeing your business on a regular basis. Feel free to wear dark turtlenecks for extra effect; you’ll be more successful. This rule is even reinforced by college promotional booklets we all received daily in our college search (remember?). An ex ample: “You’ll take a much-needed break from the books with friends as you nurse a hot, double-tall latte at the nearby coffee shop discussing the nuances of Shake speare’s Henry IV." Ah, the bliss. 2. Be a “Cool” College Student. College life is unlike any other time, don’t we know it? After playing countless games of frisbee and hackeysack on the Quad, we go home to our messy rooms full of dirty laundry. Use a washer and dryer? We don’t have time. We’re too busy being college students. If we’re not going to cut ting-edge shows at WOW Hall, we’re lis tening to hip new tunes on 88.1 KWVAor 95.3 KNRQ, cranking the volume to the hilt. Once and a while, we grab a group of friends and head out on a road trip, the ulti mate in twenty-something adventure. Who cares where we’re going, as long as we have enough beer to get us there. And sleep real ly isn’t an issue. We have too much to do. Note: If you’re, for some strange reason, not doing one of these things, you’re doing something wrong. Get help immediately. 3. Party! Our predecessors at the University, Blu to and the Delta House, will never be over CHRIS HUTCHINSON/Emerald come. It is simply impossible to party too hard. But of course, this is obvious to any well-meaning collegian. Weekends (and Wednesday nights as well) have one and only one purpose: To have as much fun as possible. And we’ll use any means neces sary to do so, including any substance, chemical or personal interaction available. Okay, okay, some people say we need to study for our classes. I mean, we are stu dents. But what they don’t realize is college is a place to have fun, not learn. More on this in the next rule. 4. The Final Hour is the Best Hour. Yes, we do need to study — a few times. If we didn’t, we’d get kicked out and then we wouldn’t be able to be college students anymore—not a good situation. Therefore, our focus must be on passing our classes. Forget academic excellence. In order to achieve this goal, only a few small man dates need to be followed: a. Wait until the last possible second you can while still being able to complete your assignment. Quality is not an issue. b. Never attend your professor’s office hours. We’re not looking for personal inter action here. You may actually start caring about the class. a Donus will De awarded tor all those who find themselves on academic proba tion. There’s nothing like being right on the edge. 5. Become an Activist. Like the old adage, if you don’t stand for something here in Duckville, you’ll fall for anything. By the time you graduate, you’d better have spent countless hours fighting for one or more gallant causes. Because if you don’t, your years here will have amounted to nothing. Didn’t the legacy of our 1960s and 1970s University counter parts teach us anything? There’s nothing like a good protest. Five rules to guaranteed happiness, i Remember and follow them with tireless devotion, and you’ll graduate with the sat isfaction of knowing you did all you were supposed to do in college. Everybody expects us to be a certain way. Why disappoint them? Ashley Bach is an editorial editor for the Emerald. His views do not necessarily represent those of the newspaper. PO BOX3159. EUGENE. OREGON97403 The Oregon Daily Emerald is published daily Monday through Friday 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 Emer ald 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 pa pers is prosecutable by law. Editor-In-Chief: Steven Asbury Managing Editor: Thom Schoenborn Night Editor: Thom Schoenborn Community: Jennifer Schmitt, editor. Eric Collins Entertainment: Nicole Kreuger, editor Jesse Stephenson Higher Education: Laura Cadiz, editor. Benjamin Kwasney Opinion: Ashley Bach, Brain Diamond, editors. Chris Hutchinson, illustrator Student Activities: Angie Suchy, editor. Autumn DePoe, Dana Williamson Sports: Mark McTyre, editor. Andrea DeYoung, assistant editor. Chris Hansen. Ryan Frank, Ryan Halvorsen Copy Desk: Sarah Kickler. copy chief. Mike Schmierbach, Kendra Smith Presentation: Dennis Bolt, editor. Matt Garton Photography: Mathew Stiffler, editor. Joe Bunik, Amanda Erickson, Shannon Kilduff, Chad Patteson Freelance: Carl Yeh, editor. On-Line: Nicholas Stiffler, director. General Manager: Judy Riedl Advertising Becky Merchant, director Anne Amador, Lee Yen Beh, Yujm Chi, Matt Johnson. Andrew Lakefish, Anne Miller, Trma Shanaman. Rose Soli, 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. Trevor Kearney.Tara Knight, Melissa Lebahn, Molly McCanta. Ellen Milne. Mike Young Business: Kathy Carbone, supervisor. Judy Connolty Distribution: John Long, Jeff Johnson. Ferenc Rakoczi Newsroom. Display Advertising . Business Office _ Classified Advertising (541)346-5511 (541)346-3712 (541)346-5512 (541)346-4343 LETTERS Improve campus safety As a second year female at the Universi ty, I am very upset at the lack of adequate safety on campus at night. Hopefully this letter will increase awareness and instigate a direct response to the problem of insuffi cient security. I first began to question the effectiveness of security at the University two weeks into my freshman year. It was reported that there was an attempted rape. It wasn’t in the bushes or in an alley. It occurred out side the Henderson dorm complex by the bike racks at 2:30 a.m. In the aftermath of the incident, we were issued packets about services offered and lectured about precau tions. Nothing was mentioned about the University’s efforts to change current safety standards. At this point, my women friends and I refused to walk around cam pus after dark. The threats of attacks and assaults is a factor that is crippling the mobility of women’s freedom on campus after dark. Although the University has taken minor steps to respond to the issue of safety, there are still flaws in the security system. The University Office of Public Safety installed emergency boxes, but none have reported ly been used for an emergency. OPS tells women that screaming is the best defense for calling help, but how can OPS hear a woman’s scream for help if they are inside their vans? Therefore, the University needs to have officers on foot as well as in their vans. Another important issue is whether or not there is adequate lighting on campus. To anyone who has ever been on campus after dark, it is obvious there is a severe problem. The walkways around the the ater, science, architecture and the library are just a few of the many areas on campus that are poorly lit. Light provides the op portunity to see oncoming danger and de creases the chance of a surprise attack. The question is why doesn’t the University fix the problem? If the problem is where the money will come from, I wonder why there is a lack of money where the life of a student is concerned. It is statistically proven that women are in more danger at night than men. Why should female students receive a different campus experience than men just because the University fails to respond to the prob lem of campus safety? If the University is committed to an affirmative, equal oppor tunity institution, then it is necessary to in stall better lighting and security. Kari Aront Undeclared Keep pressure on Twenty-two years ago, as a freshman at the University, I followed an Oregon men’s basketball team that seemed unstoppable. Ranked and playing well going into Pac-10 play, the Ducks stumbled in Corvallis and later ended the season short of their goals, but with a third-place finish in the NIT. The Ducks lost six games by a total of 13 points. Beyond the team you have now, the most awesome weapon Oregon has is its fans and in particular, one of the largest group of students attending any game in the Pac-10 conference. A smart, noisy crowd in MacArthur Court could be worth up to 15 points to the team, and a crowd too focused on the other team could dis tract Oregon from its mission. 1 make this request of you, students. Put the pressure where it belongs, on the visit ing team’s offense. Make noise in MacArthur Court until you hear nothing at all. And when they need it, give that team a kick in the butt. It should be a great sea son for you all and an experience you’ll never forget. Jim Aiken Alumni ‘81
