T EDITORIAL
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Footnotes proves it can’t handle adversity
■ OUR OPINION:
Footnotes has
handled minor
setbacks with
juvenile whining
andfinger
pointing
BACKGROUND
■ FEB. 12:
The EMU Board
holds a meeting to
discuss the possi
ble relocation of
Footnotes.
■ MARCH 10:
Kristin King
deletes EMU
Board Member
Jenna Wasson’s
Footnotes sub
scription.
■ APRIL 10:
ASUO Executive
staff revokes Foot- j
notes’ ASUO pro- :
gram status.
■ APRIL 23:
Footnotes sends
approximately
5000 e-mails to
students urging
them to support
their ballot mea
sure.
■APRIL 23:
The EMU Board
votes to guarantee \
Footnotes a spot
intheEMU.but
with an increased I
rent.
■APRIL 30: Foot
notes’ ballot mea- j
sure is voted
down.
■ MAY 6:
Footnotes an
nounces it will not i
stay in the EMU.
There are many ways
people choose to deal
with life when things
don’t go their way.
Some quit, some try again and
others change their strategy.
Still others choose to throw a
temper tantrum and blame
everyone but themselves.
Footnotes’ actions over the
past few months clearly shows
it chooses the latter approach.
To be sure, things haven’t
been going Footnotes’ way
lately. The EMU Board would
n’t allow the group to remain
in its spacious office; its rent
increased; it was reprimanded
by the ASUO Executive; and to
top it all off, its ballot measure
failed, and it may now be
throwing in the towel because
of it. Things consistently
haven’t gone Footnotes’ way,
and Footnotes has consistently
reacted with poor judgment.
Footnotes’ first mistake was
picking a fight with the EMU
Board. With its lease in jeop
ardy, Footnotes coordinator
Kristin King deleted board
member Jenna Wasson’s sub
scription to teach her a lesson
on the value of Footnotes.
Of course, the result was a
wave of bad publicity for
Footnotes and an aggra
vated EMU Board, now
even more intent on mak
ing life hard for the group.
In the face of this bad
press, Footnotes resorted
to more whining about
the unfair representation
it was getting from the
campus media.
As an almost punitive mea
sure, the EMU Board decid
ed Footnotes could stay in
the EMU but that it would
have to pay more rent. In
reaction, Footnotes
sought increased
revenue from the
students through a
ballot measure,
which as an inde
pendent non
student group,
it had little
right to do.
/J
When its ballot measure
failed, Footnotes resorted to
more gloom and doom talk.
In reaction to the ballot
measure’s defeat, Footnotes
Board member Devon London
was quoted in the Emerald as
saying, “We’ve received no
support from this University.
We’re considering folding up
the tent.”
Then, on Tuesday, Foot
notes announced it would not
return to the EMU and may not
return at all, citing higher rent
and lack of student support as
the main reasons.
Despite Footnotes’ annoying
behavior, the fact remains that
most students do support Foot
notes. The Emerald supports
Footnotes as well, even
though it did not choose N
to endorse its ballot
measure. Even mem-'
bers of the EMU
Board, who
have ,—_.
continued to battle Footnotes
on every front, find it a valu
able service.
What most people do not
support is Footnotes’ “us
against the world” mentality.
While the people behind Foot
notes may feel the campus is
out to get them because of their
string of political losses, in
many cases they have no one
to blame but themselves.
If Footnotes members hadn’t
turned the lease renewal into a
personal battle with the EMU
Board, they may not have had
their rent jacked up. If they
hadn’t been so unapologetic
about deleting Wasson’s sub
scription, the ASUO Executive
might not have taken away
their status as a student group.
I __ And if they
hadn’t bothered the student
body by sending out thousands
of random e-mails asking for
support for their ballot mea
sure, they may have actually
received extra funds.
But instead of dealing with
minor setbacks, Footnotes
waged a war against the EMU
Board, and when its measure
failed, a war against the very
student body it is supposed to
be serving.
Now Footnotes employees
are marching bravely to'the
grave, convinced the world is
out to get them. Rather than
raising subscription rates
(which many students would
be willing to pay), Footnotes
has given up entirely on stay
ing in the EMU. Perhaps Foot
notes really can’t afford to stay
in the EMU. More likely,
though, it wants to disappear
from the scene with the same
melodramatic overreacting it
has come to be famous for.
This editorial represents the
opinion of the Emerald editori
al board.
CHRIS HUTCHINSON/Emerald
LETTERS
Stones roll on
I agree with the editorial on denying The Rolling
Stones concert performance in Autzen Stadium
(April 9, ODE). The points made were great. The
University does not seem to care about the students
or the community.
Jason Lee
Eugene
Foul journalism
The latest issue of the Oregon Voice is one of the
foulest and most disgusting pieces of “journalism” I
have ever seen. I am aware that the publication is
into “parody.” However, most of the content of this
sex issue is very distasteful, to the extent of being
oppressive. The articles display little more than the
most degrading sides of sex and are rather misogy
nistic.
I am not expressing conservatism nor a desire for
censorship. I am merely expressing that the Oregon
Voice’s depictions of sex did not fly well with me. I
also find it strange that it will print a piece about
rape alongside features glorifying pornography, a
factor in perpetuating the rape culture. Remember,
student fees pay for this perpetuation, so I urge you
to pick up a copy of the magazine and see for your
self.
In addition, I contributed to this issue ... I am the
author of the “If you said no, if there wasn’t consent,
it’s still rape.” piece (pg. 24). However, for some rea
son, my name was not attributed to this piece, not
on the page, nor on the list of contributors on the
first page. Not only is this illegal and borderline pla
giarism, it is also extremely disrespectful to not ac
knowledge that it is my work. Though I am thankful
it printed the piece, which contains very important
information about rape, it is unfortunate that the
surrounding articles promote what my piece speaks
out against.
Rebecca Farmer
English
Conservative greed
The uproar over raising the minimum wage in
Oregon is astounding! Oregon is not one of the “af
fluent” states — there is a lot of poverty, and home
lessness is still at large and too many single moth
ers on minimum wage (this is not just a starting
wage for teens).
On top of this lousy salary, the Restaurant Asso
ciation was intent on paying less than $4.75 because
of tips! This ploy was trying to make us believe
restaurants were suffering, when in fact this is an
other corporate scheme to avoid paying decent
wages.
Compare this poverty level pay to the outlandish
ones the CEOs of corporate America are pulling in
— salaries in the millions with stock options and
perks over 200 times the earnings of the workers
who produce.
It is gross and quite unsustainable. How come
people who elected all these Republicans into our
House could not see this coming? Conservative or
plain greedy and uncaring of the common good?
Even with this small victory in our legislature, there
remains a mountain to overcome.
Hilde Cherry
Eugene
All
thumbs
THE DAILY
BAROMETER
With barely any
funds, the staff of
the Oregon State
student newspa
per still manages
to publish on a
daily basis and is
even trying to
innovate along
the way.
BIJOU
The 13th Avenue
theater is regress- j
ing to the 70s and j
'80s, and we love
it .Willy Wonka
and the Chocolate j
Factory has
already been
shown, and
Saturday Night
Feverls on
the way.
OSSHE
The Oregon State
System of Higher
Education
recently passed a j
pre-proposal for i
the implementa
tion of Ethnic
Studies and
Women's Studies I
majors at the
University. Ethnic j
Studies should
become official in
the fall, and
Women's Studies j
is scheduled for
1998. finally.
|
EDUCATIONAL
TESTING
SERVICES
Almost 200tests
tor prospective
teachers failed to
arrive in Eugene
from the New
Jersey-based
company last
week. With a
monopoly on
the tests, the
business can
apparently afford
to make mistakes.
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