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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 7, 1997)
▼ EDITORIAL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Steven Asbury MANAGING EDITOR: Thom Schoenbom NIGHT EDITOR: Laura Cadiz EDITORIAL EDITORS: Ashley Bach & Brian Diamond editorials, letters, commentary and perspective muni NEWSROOM: (541) 346-5511 DISPLAY ADVERTISING: (541) 346-3712 BUSINESS OFFICE: (541) 346-5512 CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING: (541)346-4343 Thoughts of Nike takeover unwarranted ■ OUR OPINION: Phil Knight’s $1 million presidential endowment is a gift, not a business maneuver When Nike CEO Phil Knight gave $25 million to the University last spring, the community reaction was generally positive. The largest college in the state was receiving one of the largest public donations ever in Pacific North west history. Why not be happy? But when Knight specifically allocated $1 million of his gift to the University President’s salary, the public cried foul. How could the leader of one of the nation’s most influential corporations directly pay part of the salary of one of the state’s most important public figures? President Frohnmayer has great power over University policy and operations, people said. Therefore, Phil Knight will now have indirect (or maybe direct) control over the University — hence “Nike University.” Nike University? This claim is unrealistic and simply the product of an underlying paranoia over anything “big.” Nike is quite a large com pany. Its products are sold all over the world. So when its CEO donates $1 million to Frohn mayer’s salary, people get scared. And an ini tial fear is justified. But that’s where it should stop. Knight said he donated the money to entice Frohnmayer to stay in his position as president. Frohnmayer, of course, is a popular man, even generating talk of a possible U.S. Senate or House run. Knight no doubt hopes the added salary will make Eugene seem a bit more at- J tractive than Washington. z' This attempt at influence by donation f is a bit questionable, but really harmless in itself. Knight just wants Frohnmayer V to stay, not start a special Nike major in \ the business school. / And Frohnmayer, no matter what, ( looks bad in the situation. He wants to V make money for the University, even make the president position more compet itive. But the fact is, he’s accepting money for himself. This doesn’t look good on the surface. And the public recognized it. But after these initial fears are recognized, one should see that the $25 million donation and the few restrictions set on that money will only be helpful to the University. The discrepancy between Knight the citizen and Knight the CEO needs to be established. He is a private citizen, a very rich one. He made the decision, for whatever reason, to give a lot of money to the University. He has not asked for any say in University internal affairs, and there’s no sign he will do so. What are we so afraid of? The initial fears, as outlined earlier, are justi fied. But ultimately, the donation will only help V/ 44* The University of OregoNike the University. Blind paranoia over corpora tions is unnecessary and hurtful to everyone in volved. We seriously doubt there will ever be any late night talks between Frohnmayer and Knight, talking over key University policy. We doubt Knight will ever demand “Just do it” signs be erected all over campus. We should be careful. Let’s not forget that. Nike is a strong presence on this campus, and the donation could strengthen this. And its overseas labor practices are under intense scrutiny. But these doubts over the corporation don’t translate into valid reasons to oppose Knight’s individual gift, as long as one wants the University to succeed. If Knight shows any indication he wants to “control” the University, we’ll call him on it. But until then, his gift can only make the Uni versity better. This editorial represents the opinion of the Emerald editorial board. “If this is a surprise to you, it’s also a surprisetome.it doesn't bother me that I’m not the first choice. I'm the best choice.” JenyGremi* an nouncing his new position as head coach of the Uni versity of Ten nessee basketball program “i remember thinking There's 300 million people outthereandone of them is right for me'—but you don’t know if you'll ever meet them or how you’ll doit." Paul McCartney, describing the in spiration for his new single “Young Boy” “I wish Jackie Robinson was alive today because I think that 25 years from now, Ameri can blacks won’t be » baseball..." Dung, for mer professional baseball player and scout, on the alien ation of blacks in baseball today "These strawber ries from Califor nia are absolutely safe to eat." U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman's reac tion to the spread of Hepatitis A caused by conta minated strawber ries from Mexico “I have no martyr complex, but i also don’t believe in giving the Irani ans the pleasure of disrupting my everyday life.” Author Salman Rusiidtaonthe$2 million bounty Iranian fundamen talists have on his head LETTERS Who we are Many people believe that being gay consists of nothing more than a specific act or a set of behaviors. Such a view is inaccurate and con signs the person who is homosexual to the status of a morally corrupt or mentally ill individual. This is the view promulgated by anti-gay per sons and political groups. The truth is that being gay is an intimate, integrated aspect of one’s identity that, like heterosexuality, is not tied to a specific behavior at all. This idea is perhaps best under stood when you consider the fact that gay males and lesbians, prior to any kind of sexual activity, identify themselves as virgins. The point is that there is a distinc tion between what people do and who they are. And for gay males and lesbians, like heterosexual persons, who we are is much more important and central to our humanity. For ex ample, being gay is the social equiv alent of having an alternate race, re ligion or national origin. Passing judgment on people based on who they are is prejudice and passing judgment on people be cause they are gay is die moral equivalent of racism. Although there are people who cannot see gay males and lesbians for who they are, there are increas ing numbers of people who are real izing that same-sex attraction is a consistent, identifying feature of hu man personality that cannot be de nied. Don Paulsen North Sioux City, SD Campaign apology As candidates for ASUO Execu tive, we realize the importance of taking responsibility for our actions. That is why we would like to apolo gize for overlooking the fact that the first set of posters we used were printed on non-recyclable material. We would like to assure everybody that all campaign materials will be printed on recyclable materials. We would also like to thank the people who brought this matter to our attention and would welcome any further comments, suggestions or concerns. We can be reached at asha@oregon.uoregon.edu or bran dons@oregon.uoregon.edu. Brandon Lee Smith Asha Mary John ASUO Candidates OCA repeat So, the OCA is at it again. It is putting a measure on the ballot in November called the Family Act, but it’s slipping things other than marriage into this bill, as it has in the past. Yet again, the measure in cludes job discrimination, censor ship in public libraries and misin formation. You’re voting for more than just marriage on this one. Before you sign the OCA’s petition or vote yes on the measure, think of that. Con sider the repercussions of legalising discrimination. Regardless of how you feel about gays or lesbians, do you really want to be held responsi ble for condemning a large portion of the population to second-class cit izenship? Think about this: Who’s next? If the OCA can do it to gay people, who’s next on the list for legal preju dice? Almost every minority in this country was at one time the target of legal prejudice. Will we return to a time when people are judged by their race or religion? These groups have almost broken free. If you think that you’re immune to being the tar get of legal prejudice, and you sup port the OCA, think again. You may be next. Jennifer Petersen Chemistry
