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If mom could only see them now...
Free from mom’s rules, too
many college students
celebrate freedom with
substance abuse and rebellion
Mother’s Day passes
on a college cam
pus. It is celebrated
by students blasting
music that reaches its loudest
levels late at night, abusing
substances silly and staying
out until dawn. What is the
cause of this orgiastic rebel
lion?
The answer is that this year,
Mommy is far, far away — at
least far enough to have had to
let go. Now without a leash, all
the sons and daughters can
rebel against every rule ever
imposed upon them. Now that
they are “adults,” they can
make their own decisions.
Many undergraduates, espe
cially as freshmen, are freedom
virgins, having leaped into col
lege straight from their moth
ers’ laps. And as each weekend
approaches, they begin to
squirm with anticipation, eager
to do everything they were nev
er allowed to do before. Even
this far into the school year the
feelings don’t fade — for this is
not typically a phase that wears
off, but a way of life honed on
fraternity training grounds.
Now please do not misun
derstand; I know not everyone
fits this mold. As the days grow
longer and hotter, a weekend
binge can be a way to cut loose;
blasting music and partying all
OPINION
night
can be a
release
from the
minutiae
of every
day, aca
demic
life. But
if you
did any
“cele
brating”
over the Mother’s Day week
end, ask yourself if beneath the
motivations for your actions
there wasn’t a certain sense of
liberation.
I ask you, because I cannot
answer myself. You see, I was
never shielded or sheltered
growing up as a child. By my
teenage years I had near-com
plete independence. If there
was somewhere I wanted to go,
I went there, regardless of the
time of night. I stayed out until
I got bored or tired, then I hap
pily returned home. Because
of this freedom to choose, I
never felt the uncontrollable
urge to stay out until three in
the morning, just because of a
midnight curfew.
Even Daddy’s liquor cabinet
wasn’t ever locked to me.
Once, I did decide to get drunk
out of curiosity. 1 ended up hat
ing tire taste of alcohol and hat
ing loosing control of myself
even more. I must admit,
though, if the whiskey I took
from that cabinet had been off
limits, the rebellious act itself
would have probably been
enough to substantially sweet
en that bottle’s bitter taste.
You have to understand that
my problem with this rebellion,
and alcohol especially, stems
from seeing too many wonder
ful people, whom I care about
deeply drown in a drink; good
hearted, smart, witty people
who through a shot of 90-proof
may loose their inhibitions, but
also their identity.
Not too long ago, I received a
phone call. It was from a guy
whom I met at a birthday party
the week before. At that party, I
spent a good deal of time talk
ing with him and found him to
be a bright, genuine and sym
pathetic person. Now, on the
phone he told me a few friends
and himself were getting to
gether that afternoon, and he
wanted to know if I cared to
join them.
I asked where his house was,
and because it was a mere cou
ple of blocks away, I agreed
wholeheartedly. When I ar
rived, I was greeted by a group
of guys, diversified in ethnicity
and appearances, ranging from
one stout, crew-cut individual
to a pierced, tattooed hippy.
The peoples’ personalities
seemed equally diverse, and I
thoroughly enjoyed trying to
get to know them better. Hu
morously, I bonded best with
one of the larger, more intimi
dating individuals, through a
common love for Star Trek.
We continued talking for
some time, then, six people 1
hadn’t yet seen descended
from the second story of the
house. They walked very
proudly, and had an air of au
thority about them. One car
ried a banner of some sort in
his hand.
When he reached the base of
the stairs, he unfurled the ban
CHRIS HUTCHINSON/Emerald
ner, revealing Greek lettering!
He raised it above his head,
and everyone began to clap in
unison, first slowly, then faster
and faster. They proceeded to
do a number of different ritu
als. When the rituals ceased,
those I had been talking to had
undergone a distinct transfor
mation. In the presence of
these new figures, mannerisms
changed from that of endearing
Star Trek fans to beer-guzzling,
“frat-boy” stereotypes.
I tried for a while to stick it
out, but with each drink, the
individuals whom I enjoyed
getting to know earlier slowly
slipped away. I left the fraterni
ty ambush, a little disgusted
and a lot disappointed.
So, in honor of last Sunday’s
significance, some, with music
blaring in the background, may
chug one for Mom. I, instead,
will raise an empty glass, and
propose a toast: “Thanks
Mom, for freedom then, and
perspective now.”
Evan A. Denbaum, a columnist
for the Emerald, is a sopho
more majoring in journalism.
His views do not necessarily re
flect those of the paper. E-mail:
squire@gladstone.uoregon.edu
quoted
“Whatever their motivation, the fact that
they pursued vigorous trade with the
Third Reich had the clear effect of
supporting and prolonging Nazi
Germany’s capacity to wage war."
Stuart Eizenstat, the author of a U.S.
report on Switzerland's behavior during
World Wart I
“The way I see it, when your car is
stolen, you repossess if."
Former U.S. congressman Robert
Roman (R-Cai.), on his ongoing protest
over his election loss to a Hispanic
woman last fall. He believes Mexican
immigrants, who were not yet citizens,
voted against him
“They’re probably wondering what the
next step is for them, i’m concerned
about them."
Former Heaven’s Gate member Dick
Joslyn, on the fate of the few remaining
members of the cult
“Right now, it’s probably not worth it—
considering the flack and all. It's gotten
too personal.”
Talk-show host Jerry Springer, on
quitting a new job at a Chicago TV
station after widespread protest
“I had all the windows shut tight, and I
realized that I could actually hear the
lyrics. It felt like I was being forced to
attend the concert.”
far reach of the Jay 6 U2 concert in
Autzen Stadium, as quoted in the May 8
Register-Guard
“We look to be a United States of
Africa.”
Rebel leader Laurent Desire Kabila, on
his possible new government in Zaire
“It's really a wonderful house. I
definitely think it will sell rather quickly."
Real estate agent Bob Bennlon, on the
Seattle home owned by Courtney Love,
which is currently on the market. Her
husband Kurt Cobain killed himself
there
“I’m like, 'Argh! I just can’t decider
18-year-old Portland resident Jon
Cowan, on choosing between
enrollment at two prestigious liberal
arts colleges, as quoted in the May 1
Oregonian
“I never used to run, and I started
running to train for it like two months
before It. So I just wanted to not
embarrass myself and to run the whole
way.”
Supermodel Cindy Crawford on
participating in the 5-kilometer Revlon
Run/Walk for Women in Los Angales
LETTERS
Misrepresented group
We, the All Women’s Book
Group, feel that we were not ade
quately represented in the May 2
article in the Emerald entitled
“Student initiated discussion
course raises racial concerns.”
First, our main focus is gender,
not race. We address the issues
raised by authors about the chal
lenges of being a women and how
those issues are compounded by
race, class, sexuality, religion and
any “other” as defined by main
stream society. This group was
spawned out of the desire to end
the complacency that was found
in the classroom.
The distortion of the group’s
purpose has been caused by bad
journalism and untrue facts. The
overall portrayal of the group in
the article was a monstrous mis
representation of our goals: to
unite as women to further our
knowledge, increase our under
standing and better our expression
on issues concerning women in
society.
The issue of whether we are ten
“white women from the suburbs”
or any other class, race, sexuality
or religion is irrelevant This per
petuates the labeling that plagues
our society and causes women to
be divided.
If the point of the article was to
highlight the improbability of any
thing emerging from the discus
sions of a group of white women
from the suburbs, it succeeded.
However, the reality is, every
week we get together to discuss lit
erature by women that is focused
on combatting the pervasive gen
der stereotypes that structure our
lives.
Amy Williams
English
Timely problem
Something is wrong on campus
all right, as your April 25 editorial
on dry fraternities suggests. But al
cohol in houses is only one issue.
Going dry as a campus is the right
thing to do. The people who feel
they must drink themselves into
another galaxy are the same peo
ple who feel Steve Prefontaine is a
modern hero. He’s dead because
he abused drugs and alcohol. How
difficult is it to understand that
concept?
Alcohol is a problem. Men who
join fraternities for the "social as
pect” of drinking themselves to
oblivion are not intelligent enough
to know they have any options.
These “men” belong in first grade,
not a university. And the decision
to go dry by the year 2000 is
ridiculous. The problem is now. If
we wait three years, another gen
eration of alcoholics might devel
op, and society will pay for their
mistakes. Go dry now. Why wait
three years? This campus can be
part of a solution or continue to be
part of the problem.
Judy Harper
Accountant
Education