Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012, May 27, 1997, Page 2, Image 2

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    ▼ EDITORIAL
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF:
Steven Asbury
MANAGING EDITOR:
Thom Schoenbom
NIGHT EDITOR:
Mike Schmierbach
EDITORIAL EDITORS:
Ashley Bach &• Brian Diamond
editorials, letters,-commentary and pep5''"
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End-of-the-year crunch
The last few weeks of the term
may be a challenge, but they are
also an opportunity for students
to push themselves to the limit
Exercises 17-20 in the green packet.
An 8-10 page Communication His
tory paper. A 15-20 page Creative
Writing short story. This column.
Not to mention upcoming finals.
I’m sure every student reading this has
his or her own version of the list above,
some far worse than mine. Oh yes, that time
of year is here again, time to be tossed about
in an academic tornado that was but a
breeze during the first week of classes.
And if you’re like me, you look forward
to the stress and strain in some twisted way.
You put on a plastic smile, as the third pro
fessor of the day assigns so much work he
must think his class is the only one you’re
taking. You just grin that masochistic grin
OPINION
Evan A.
Denbaum
anu Dear uie Drum oi me
term’s load.
Maybe I enjoy this
time of year because it
acknowledges that the
end is near — that soon
“crunch time” will con
clude — grinding out fi
nal grades and spitting
me into summer’s sun.
Then all those facts and
figures crammed in my
Drain can seep away with the sweat from the
heat.
Maybe I enjoy this time of year because of
its little rituals — 22-hour dorm quiet hours
during Dead Week, being broken only by
the sound of the 10 p.m. screamers.
Maybe I enjoy this time of year because it
pushes my limits — the workload and ex
ams testing not just my intelligence, but my
character. I look back laughingly at the 61
straight hours I spent in front of a computer
screen, on four mugs of espresso, in order to
meet my final paper deadline for a class apt
ly nicknamed “Info Hell.” When that paper
was done, it was 104 pages long and quality
work I could be proud of.
And while I only got a B on that mam
moth assignment, it’s a B I’ll take over all
the As that I’ve ever received. I’ll take that B
because I worked harder for it than I had
ever worked before, and after that experi
ence — after pumping out 104 pages — I
knew no assignment would ever feel insur
mountable again.
And even now, as new massive projects
threaten to crush my will under their
weight, I look forward to
having new little stories
to tell and laugh
about. But until then,
while I’m still feeling
so much pressure
that it’s anything but
funny, I try to take
solace in the little
things.
Now, I don’t
mean “stop and
smell the roses.”
Roses are obvious
— bold and beauti
ful. No, I mean the
truly little things,
like the rasp in your
best friend’s voice,
which only you’d no
tice, or that one light
in the hallway that re
quires flipping the
switch up to turn off.
i nose tnmgs, unlike
the wave of work, are
life's constants, and that’s
where comfort from the con
fusion hides. I realize that
idea may make sense to some,
and simply sound like a fortune
cookie to others. To me, it means
that when the assignments add up,
and deadlines begin to loom large, the
sound or sight of something that tran
scends the term’s temporary woes can
make all the difference. Sometimes a 10
minute trip to the river is enough to give
me a better sense of balance.
So as that academic noose tightens this
term, try to see it as an opportunity to push
yourself a little harder. And if you find
yourself folding under the weight of the
work and exams, think about a quote by
poet Guillaume Apollinaire that’s always
stuck with me:
“Come to the edge, he said.
They said: We are afraid.
Come to the edge, he said.
They came.
He pushed them... and they flew.”
Or, if that doesn’t do it for you, try this lit
tle ditty that’s been passed down in my fam
ily for generations:
“Today is the tomorrow that worried you
yesterday, and all is well.”
Evan A. Denbaum is a columnist for the
Emerald. His views do not necessarily re
flect those of the newspaper. E-mail:
squire@g!adstone. uoregon.edu
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CHRIS HUTCHINSON/Emerald
LETTERS
Misplaced anger
I am writing in response to Amie
Corbin’s letter in the May 22 Emerald
regarding the Take Back the Night
march. I can appreciate her frustration
and hurt about men being “segregat
ed” from the march. In fact, every year
the planning committee deals with
the same issue that Ms. Corbin ad
dresses. Every year, the committee de
cides by consensus that men should
show their support by marching sepa
rately for women.
The march is not about “segrega
tion.” The march, instead, is about
women coming together to empower
themselves. The “Take Back the
Night” march began in Europe in 1976
when 100,000 women wanted to re
claim the night for all women .which
was taken away due to violence
against women. The movement then
came to the U.S. in 1978 when 5,000
women marched in San Francisco.
The march symbolizes solidarity
among women claiming to end vio
lence against women. In order to do
this effectively, women need to march
on their own for themselves. Ms.
Corbin has a point in that ending vio
lence against women takes the com
mitment of both men and women.
There are many ways for men and
women to demonstrate this commit
ment. The “Take Back the Night”
march is not and should not be the
only way to address issues of violence
against women.
I respect Ms. Corbin’s decision
about not participating in the march,
however I hope that she will explore
different ways to address her concerns
rather than misplacing her anger onto
the march.
Sho Shigeoka
ASUO Women’s Center
Director
Women’s night
The ASUO Women’s Center annu
ally sponsors the Take Back the Night
March to protest violence against
women. The goals of the march are to
empower women and give everyone a
chance to speak out against violence
and oppression.
As this year’s co-coordinator, I was
dismayed to read Amie Corbin’s letter
(May 22, ODE) complaining about
men marching behind the women
during the event. The decision was
made by a committee of students, both
men and women, and it was not an
easy decision. The group felt it was
the correct one.
We all agree that we need the sup
port of both men and women. Men are
asked to march in the back to demon
strate that women should be able to
walk at night unescorted and un
afraid.
We realize that this is not a reality
for many women in our community,
but this is the one night of the year
when women can march together,
strong and unified, without men pro
tecting them and without fear.
We hope that men will participate
and show their support because vio
lence against women is a universal
problem that men and women have to
combat together. Men should be furi
ous about violence perpetrated on
their wives, mothers, girlfriends,
daughters and friends.
If you would like to learn more
about ways men can stop the violence,
I invite you to attend “Football, Femi
nism, and Other Contemporary Con
tradictions,” tonight at 7 p.m., 150 Co
lumbia.
Jessica Frahs
ASUO Women’s Center
Events Coordinator
Quoted
“I had no idea it was
Alcohol Awareness
Week on campus.”
TonySustare,
owner of Taylor’s
bar, when asked
about last week's
event, as quoted in
the Emerald
“We have at last put
the brakes on the
downward spiral of
higher education in
this state.”
State Rep. Cynthia
Woolen (D-Eu
gene), after the Ore
gon House passed a
$1.9 billion higher
education bill
“I’m going to try to
get the most out of
my life. Thanks for
giving it back to
me."
Seventeen-year-old
Dylan Burke, in a
message to fire
fighters who res
cued him from a
Portland warehouse
fire May 23
“We used to have
one of the most fa
mous and well-re
spected parks sys
tems in the United
States. We were the
envy of the coun
try."
Lane County Com
missioner Peter
Sorenson, on the
decline of Oregon
state parks, in the
May 25 Register
Guard
“Journalists like to
portray me as a
madman.... It’s not
that. It’s just hard
work."
ActorMichael
Richards, who
plays Kramer on
“Seinfeld," on his
work ethic
“No class has
missed more
school, but perhaps
no class has learned
more this spring.”
Mark Sanford, su
perintendent of
Grand Forks, N.D.,
schools, in his ad
dress to the gradu
ating classes of the
flood-ravaged area
“He’s not the kind of
person you would
picture jumping off
a cliff, but I can see
where he could rise
to the occasion to
help someone."
Ted Lopuszynski,
friend of John Gray,
after he discovered
his friend was se
verely injured trying
to rescue a boy
trapped on a Can
non Beach cliff.