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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 14, 1997)
▼ EDITORIAL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Steven Asbury MANAGING EDITOR: Thom Schoenbom NIGHT EDITOR: Thom Schoenbom EDITORIAL EDITORS: Ashley Bach & Brian Diamond editorials, letters, commentary and perspective NEWSROOM: (541) 346-5511 DISPLAY ADVERTISING: (541)346-3712 BUSINESS OFFICE: (541) 346-5512 CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING: (541)346-4343 For love or money? ■ CON: ‘Special’ days need to be about more than just finding an excuse for having expensive sex Today, Feb. 14, is a special day on my calendar: A day of personal and historical significance. Feb. 14 is Oregon’s birthday. Last year, in cel ebration of our pine tree and grass-filled state, I even dyed my hair green. Some people were confused. Apparently, they have another association with today: Valentine’s Day, and Valentine’s Day has nothing to do with the color green. Unless, of course, you associate green with money. Yes, corporate America has purchased this holiday along with the rest, and florists, card makers and dimly lit restaurants are reaping the rewards. However, it isn’t the big money buyout Mike Sctanierlncl) that bothers me about Valentine's Day. In to day’s society, this is to be expected. I don’t like Valentine’s Day because it has no point. One of my friends tells me that, for her fam ily, Valentine’s Day is a big deal; a time when everyone gets together with much iov and han piness. Well, my friend is weird. Let’s face it, Valentine’s Day is about sex. This isn’t a productive holiday which builds a sense of community. It’s a holiday when people spend a lot of money to get what they usually obtain for free. Perhaps in earlier, more proper days, sex was a “big event. ” Something that necessi tated giving flowers, buying expensive meals and handing over a fat box of choco lates. Something that required its own day of the year. For most modem couples, though, sex is almost painfully rou tine. It is certainly not an event that requires the sacrifice of innocent flowers. Yes, sex is something that should be taken seriously, but so are flowers. My mother grew roses, for example, and her careful atten tion to the pruning and spraying that the task requires ^tgj has proven to me the near-sacredness of the** rose. In the name of one more night of sex, we’re sacrificing thousands of roses before they cease to be buds. I may exaggerate the situation. Perhaps you don’t think the fate of a few flowers is worth trimming a holiday. This could be true, but if Valentine’s Day is to continue, it should serve a more useful purpose than preparing a couple for their night’s frivolity by forcing a man to whip out his wallet for something other than a condom. (Yes, 1 know you shouldn’t keep them there.) Valentine’s Day is supposed to be about love, but the only thing it teaches is that true love exists within the confines of couple dom and requires large purchases of per fume, candy, flowers and jewelry to ensure its continuation. Advertisers tell us, in diamond commer cials and flower spots, that by buying the right product, we can guarantee romance at least one day of the year. This romance is just one more step on the road to sex. And as they say, sex sells. This kind of sexually charged, incredibly expensive love is not what society needs to encourage. What we could use is a little love of community. A little love of family. A little love that doesn’t involve buying presents. Or perhaps what we really need to do is dye our hair green, run naked in the woods and dread the day when Hallmark issues a card for Oregon’s birthday. Mike Schmierbach, a junior majoring in journalism, is a guest columnist for the Emerald. His views do not necessarily represent those of the paper. ■ PRO: Valentine’s Day is a time for silly love and hopeless romantics Today, I am Cupid’s hired gun. I’ll admit, I never used to like Valen tine’s Day, not one little bit. Too much pink and froo-froo stuff. Chocolate covered cherries make me gag and I prefer cotton to silk. But all that has changed. I think Valentine’s Day can be fun, romantic and silly in a good way. , Two years ago, 1 \ * was planning the ultimate lonely hearts club night with a bunch of single girlfriends. 1 started preparing for it two weeks before V Day. 1 searched the yellow pages for the most unromantic sounding restaurant in which we could chow on meat and be your basic bitter Harpies. No matter. It never happened. I got a date. How typical! Abandon your sex for the love of the opposite, there’s no better way to spend die holiday. He was someone I had been eying for a while and we’d been do ing the I-like-you-do-you-like-me tan go for the two previous weeks. There were so many things wrong with this man. First of all, we worked together, some thing I’ve always thought a no-no. Secondly, he had this hideous leech of an ex- girlfriend who I had a feel ing would nev er die. We went to the Bijou to see "Red,” the French film which is part of the triage. X) It was actually quite romantic in an intellectual way. Afterward we went and had some beers and he walked me home. Okay, this is what you are waiting for, he kissed me on the verandah! Those first kisses. WOW! They are either there or they are not. This one was definitely there and I’ve been in love with him ever since. It’s sad though. There’s really not enough romance in the world these days. My grand parents are coming up on their 60th wedding anniversary. They became sweethearts in the fourth grade and went steady all through high school. Last year their local newspaper had a con test for the most romantic true-life love story. My grandfather wrote in and won first place. He didn’t even tell my grandmother that he was going to do it. She found it in the paper on Valentine’s Day. Even romantic thought seems to have been squelched in this hurry-up technology inten sive culture of the Nineties. Ruth Bascom, former mayor, proposed that all the street OPINION Erickson lamps and city lights be modified so that Eugeni ans could better enjoy the beautiful Northwest night sky. What a roman tic idea. Some locals scoffed at this as frivo lous. But, why not? I think that is the idea behind Valentine’s Day. It’s a holiday when we have an excuse to be silly m love. Some cool poet once said, "For in the muck and scum of things, there always, al ways, something sings." That’s what the holiday is about. Taking pause to remember that the good life is not about wealth or stature, it's about the price less things. So, don’t wallow in the muck on this holi day. Ask someone out, send flowers anony mously, rent a sappy movie and drink a lot of wine. If it’s clear, go stare at the cosmos, al though you’ll have to drive out of town or up into the hills. Eugene isn’t nearly as romantic as the mayor. Amanda Erickson, a senior majoring in )ournalism, is a guest columnist for the Emerald. Her views do not necessarily rep resent those of the paper. LETTERS Men against rape The Just Us program on Jan. 15 was a powerful, thought-provoking presentation on acquaintance rape that spoke to the hearts of more than 600 attendees. Men on campus now have the opportunity to come together to learn what we can do to pre vent date rape. Three thoughts have emerged. We des perately need to lend leadership and sup port in reinstating and maintaining organi zations on campus such as Greeks Against Rape and Men Against Rape. It is imperative that all men become aware of how our socialization process, in ternalized beliefs and external behavior may contribute to a rape-tolerant environ ment. Last of all, it would be important for male faculty and staff to reflect on how they could become positive role models to students on campus in regards to relation ships. The University Counseling Center will 1 be offering workshops for men that will provide an opportunity to explore our so cialization, behaviors and beliefs in a posi tive and safe atmosphere. The ultimate goal is to develop natural ly appropriate ways of relating with others in order to prevent unwanted sexual be havior. For further information, contact the Counseling Center at 346-3227. John Davies, Ph.D & 2 co-signers University Counseling Center Get with it A quick reminder to all coffee drinkers and cigarette smokers: It is 1997, and some of you don’t get it. No, I don’t harsh on ei ther of these habits whatsoever, but I do have some strong feelings toward habits within these habits. First, to all you coffee, tea or any conve nience beverage drinkers: Wake up and smell the coffee! The continuous purchas ing a disposable paper drink cup, accom panied by those handy dandy plastic lids day after day isn’t right. It is very easy to spend $3 on a refillable mug that you can carry in you back pack. The waste and continuous throw-away habits can’t be sustained. Do yourself and the earth a favor. It will make you feel good, I promise. Secondly, to all you cancer puffers: Smoke if you do choose, but don't throw you lipstick covered, fiberglass filled, nico tine spiked roaches on the ground. Who made the rule that cigarette butts weren’t trash? I don’t like to look at your deathly remains still smoldering on the side walk. It’s easy to put a cigarette out and dispose of it properly. If you fall under one or both of these cat egories, just think about your actions, how they affect others and the place we reside. Thank you for reading and absorbing. Josh Laughlin Journalism Corrections In the Feb. 12 article, “BSU recognizes Black History," the sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha was incorrectly named Alpha Kap pa. The Alpha Kappa Alpha fashion show will be from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Memorial Union Ballroom in Corvallis. In the Feb. 12 article, “Black History Month Events Continue," the Black Stu dent Union was incorrectly named as sponsoring the Ebony Man Showcase. The Black Women of Empowerment will be sponsoring the event, which will take place at noon on Feb. 22 in the EMU Gum wood Room. The Emerald regrets the errors.
