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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 18, 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 The Year of the Tiger CHRIS HUTCHINSON/Emerald ■ OUR OPINION: Tiger Woods not only brings new enthusiasm to the golf world, but to all sports as well Look out world, here comes Tiger. Tiger Woods, the 21-year-old golf sensation, is America’s newest obses sion after his record-breaking vic tory at the Masters last week. For the people who still don’t know what Woods has accomplished, here’s a quick , breakdown. Last week, in his first year as a profession al golfer, Woods achieved victory in what may be the most prestigious tour nament in golf—the Masters. Actually, he didn’t just beat the competition at the Masters, he dominated, setting or tying nine records including lowest score, youngest winner and widest mar gin of victory (12 strokes). Not to mention the fact that he became the first non-white champion in a tournament that not so long ago (unfortunately) wouldn’t even let minorities play. While golf fans had known Woods was something special b from his days as an amateur, now the entire world has caught on to Tiger-mania. Nike is already off and run kning with a series of Tiger Woods commercials simi lar to Gatorade’s “Be like Mike” series. A new gen eration of golfers (and non-golfers for that mat ter) are quickly develop ing a “Be like Tiger” mentality. And why not? After all, Woods isn’t just a re ally good golfer. He’s a whole new kind of golfer. The typical image most peo ple have of golfers is middle f aged, white, rich guys. Perhaps that can help explain golfs limit ed appeal to most of society. But with Tiger Woods, those barriers have been broken. At only 21, Woods looks more like your typical college student than a world-famous athlete. And of course, he’s not white, which sep arates him from almost every oth er famous golfer today. More im portantly, it gives a whole new group of people someone in the golf world they can actually relate to. The fact is, right now America badly needs a Tiger Woods. In an era where football heroes are charged with murder, baseball players act more like business ex ecutives than athletes and basket ball players spend more of their time doing shoe commercials than signing autographs, an ath lete like Tiger Woods is a breath of fresh air. He seems to represent every thing that’s right with sports. He challenges stereotypes and com petitors alike, while still demon strating a clear love for the game of golf. We all know Woods will make a lot of money at golf before he’s through, but just the same, he seems to be in it for the sport, not the business. Perhaps the hysteria over Tiger Woods is getting out of control. After all, he hasn’t dominated the golf world yet. But people like Tiger Woods don’t show up on the scene very often. And when they do, it’s only natural that peo ple will put them on a pedestal of admiration. It’s fitting that Tiger’s victory at the Masters came two days before the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s major league debut. Both men represent everything that a sports hero should be. De termined. Talented. And having an unapologetic love for the sport at which they excel. It’s way too soon to tell if Woods will go down in history like Robinson. One thing is for sure, however. He’s off to a pretty good start. This editorial represents the opin ion of the Emerald editorial board. LETTERS Virtues forgotten I would like to respond to your arti cle concerning alcohol-free fraterni ties (April 14, ODE). First of all, they are called fraternities, not frats. Your cover picture appeared to be an at tempt to make the Greek system look bad. The picture was a complete con tradiction of what you were reporting and had absolutely nothing to do with the article. The paraphernalia in the front yard of Sigma Nu was placed there as a decoration for a theme par ty The two fraternities, Phi Delta Theta and Sigma Nu, going dry should be commended, not ostra cized. They are taking a big risk being the first. Greeks live by certain nation al rules they must obey, whereas, most college students do not have any regulations concerning alcohol in their homes. Why not focus on the positive as pects such as the brotherhood, sister hood and traditions? Greeks provide a majority of funds and services for lo cal and national charity organizations. They play a big part in events such as the Munchkin Run, Special Olympics, Dance Marathon and indi vidual chapter philanthropies. They not only aid the community, but also in the University. I challenge you to report these positive events in your paper more often. Danielle DeBussey Undeclared Empty dryness This whole policy of creating dry fraternities may create a safe and healthier atmosphere within the fra ternities’ walls, but it will only take the drinking elsewhere. Others in volved have made this point, but it should be looked at more carefully. College students are not going to stop drinking, and there should be nothing wrong with that. It is when students have to deal with all the re strictions and laws that drinking be comes such an issue. I am currently doing an internship in London where the drinking age is 18. Going to a pub is not a big deal, they don’t have to sneak in and drink large amounts in a short period of time like many end up doing before they go to a “dry” event. Speaking from experience, students tend to drink a lot more before dry functions then they probably would during the actual event if alcohol was involved. Going “dry” may improve a fraternity’s usual image of being a bunch of beer bonging, keg standing guys, and lower insurance rates, but it certainly won’t solve any drinking problems among members or partici pants of parties. The parties will move elsewhere — golf courses, houses, places people have to drive to. This is stupid, but the whole Greek system seems to be so caught up in politics and its image that the “higher-ups” don’t tend to look at the reality. Natalie Montgomery London, England High speed rail \ Crammed, night- i marishtripsina Greyhound bus could be a distant j memory with this | proposed railway i from Eugene to Seattle. For the sake of Portland natives without cars everywhere, let this train please I become reality. OPS Representatives from the Office of j Public Safety made good last week, correcting an egregious er ror. At first, offi cers ticketed cars i that parked in spots near Mac Court where per mit signs were missing. After be- I ing informed of their error, they removed all the tickets and re placed the signs, making campus safer for drivers | everywhere. j Last minute taxpayers Many people who ] waited until Tues- \ day’s deadline to j file their tax returns 1 complained about j the complicated government forms j and figures. Itprob-1 ably wouldn’t have j been so difficult, or j as stressful, if they ] had started a bit earlier... like a few i months ago. Sen. Robert Byrd : The hard-line Democrat senator j from West Virginia ; filed a complaint last week when an I aide for Sen. Ron j Wyden tried to en- I ter the Senate chamber with her guide dog. Byrd is a notorious stickler for Senate regula tions, but a guide dog?
