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Enemies of etiquette: Part 2
■ OUR OPINION: The usual suspects
behind bad classroom behavior are
back, and they’re as annoying as ever
We didn’t want to do it
again. We really did
n’t. But the present
academic environ- X-:
ment was just asking for action on
our part. And we had to oblige. \
It’s sad really. Nothing has
changed. Classes are still boring. Peo
ple are still annoying. And we still
have a lot to complain about.
We wonder why people make the
learning process so difficult. We won
der why nobody seems to understand
just how annoying they are. But we’re
secure in the fact that if we keep com
plaining, somebody will hear our
cries. And then maybe things will
get better.
And if not, well, at least we
had a lot of fun along the X
way.
Here's the new offend
ers....
Early birds: This may
be one of the biggest
problems on campus
today. Forget panhan
dling or bike theft.
This happens in our
classes every day.
As the 50-minute
mark approaches
each hour, a
strange phe
nomenon oc
curs. It’s
called the “10
minute rustle. 1 he
exact starting time varies depending
on the tediousness of the class, but at
some point, students begin to move,
and talk, and pack their things away
— all before class is even close to over.
Perhaps it’s a comment on the pro
fessor or the material he or she is
teaching, but no matter what, it’s an
noying, and it needs to stop.
Hint to the birds: Class is in session
until that final bell, whether you like
it or not. If you don’t like it, don’t
come.
Noisemakers: Sometimes we won
der if we’re in class with that guy from
“Police Academy,” judging from all
the strange sounds we hear. Fingers
tapping, freestyle rapping, hand
drumming, even farting noises. What
is this, fifth grade?
Cool cats: We all feel like we have
some better place to be than in class,
but these people take the cake.
They’re so cool, so uninterested, they
CHRIS HUTCHINSON/Emerald
want to let everyone around them
know. One tactic is headphones; the
music is usually so loud the professor
has to stop class to deal with it. And
those wearing the phones often speak
much louder than anyone else, usual
ly about how boring the class is. That
can be embarrassing.
Another method is, flatteringly
enough, copies of the Emerald. Of
fenders hold unfolded ODEs out in
front of them and read away, much to
the professor’s dismay. We don’t nec
essarily oppose this practice, as long
as one is actually reading, preferably
the opinion page.
Skimpy stylists; If the temperature
"climbs” even close to 70 degrees,
both men and women feel the need to
ditch about 90 percent of their
wardrobe. In other words, the only
pieces of clothing used in any kind of
sunshine are 1) underwear, in all its
incarnations and 2) any additional
clothing needed to conveniently “fill
in the blanks” and quell any charges
of indecent exposure.
This practice is not only humorous,
it’s also very distracting for both sex
es. Talk about inhibiting the mission
of the University. Near-nakedness
will do it every time.
Hint to the students: Please, at least
put some clothes on in the classroom,
or we’ll never get anything done.
Painful profs: We could write a few
full editorials on peevish professor
behavior, but we’ll spare our readers
the expense. Only one horrible habit
will be focused on here.
In this technological age, professors
seem inclined to take a few too many
trips down the Information Super
highway. Many love to say they’re
teaching “on the Web,” just for the
sake of it. It must have incredible
bragging rights at departmental mix
ers; that’s all we can figure.
Unfortunately, using the World
Wide Web and e-mail is only benefi
cial if it actually helps communicate.
Oftentimes, professors spend more
time calling for technical advice than
actually teaching.
So there they are, the latest group of
offenders of classroom etiquette. The
scary thing is the list will never stop.
The cool thing is we can all work to
gether to make this whole learning
thing easier... we hope.
This editorial represents the opinion
of the Emerald editorial board.
The headline “UO
student shot dur
ing robbery" in the
May 27 issue was
incorrect. The per
son who was shot
was not a Univer
sity student. The
Emerald regrets
the error.
LETTERS
True paternalism
On Monday, the editorial on
Gardenburgers mangled the
facts. Contrary to the second
paragraph, no one is complain
ing about any labor practices at
Wholesome and Healthy Foods.
The University is being pres
sured to drop Gardenburgers in
the hope that this will put pres
sure on Wholesome and Hearty
Foods in the hope that they will
put pressure on the company
that distributes their products
in the hope that they will put
pressure on their associated
food processing company in
the hope that they will put pres
sure on their farmers to give
their field workers a better deal.
You quote President Frohn
mayer as saying that students
should choose individually
whether to support the boycott.
You say that his point is valid
in general, but not in this case,
because the University, not the
students, decides what will be
served in the dorms.
The fact is that students are
being offered an alternative to
Gardenburgers. Individual stu
dents are deciding what to eat,
and their decisions determine
what is purchased by the Uni
versity. Frohnmayer’s point is
quite valid in this case, and the
course that you advocate is not
“responsibility” or “leader
ship” but a paternalism that is
attractive only because you fa
vor die political decision that it
would impose.
Charles Munger
Computer Science
Humorous language
I read through the new Sexu
al Misconduct code, and I was
struck by how ridiculous the
wording is on it. The code says
that these are acts of sexual vio
lence:
1) Married couples having
sex in family housing (because
this is on University-owned or
controlled property).
2) If kissing your
girl/boyfriend causes them to
not concentrate well on their
exam and it affects their scores
(because this interferes with
another person's academic per
formance).
Is this insane or what? I sup
port some of the principles of
the new code, but when I actu
ally read it, I laughed at how
poorly written it is.
Jade Forrest Rubick
Japanese
wipe
BOB HOPE
At 94, Bob Hope will
receive the Freedom
Award of the Ronald
Reagan Presidential
Foundation for his
“efforts on the front
lines of liberty.”
STEVEN
SPIELBERG
The director's new
film, The Lost
World: Jurassic
Park, pulled in an es
timated $92.7 mil
lion over the holiday
weekend.
UNIVERSITY
GRADUATES
A University survey
reported that 80 per
cent of graduates
had a job 6 months
after graduation at
an average salary of
$21,000 to $28,000.
OREGON SCHOOLS
The House passed a
budget last week
that would give
schools $4.35 bil
lion, almost $128
million more that the
Senate’s proposed
lilllllillli
HJiP @ E1 i 9
THE CIA
Recently declassi
fied documents re
vealed the CIA plot
ted to assassinate
suspected Commu
nist leaders in
Guatemala during
the 1950s.
WELFARE
RECIPIENTS
An Associated Press
Survey of the na
tion’s 100 biggest
corporations found
that 75 percent have
no programs to hire
people from the wel
fare roles, despite
President Clinton’s
call for businesses
to help employ the
poor.
THE AMERICAN
CANCER SOCIETY
A recent study re
ported 26.7 percent
of teens aged 14 to
19 had tried a cigar
in the past year in
spite of efforts by
the American Can
cer Society to dis
courage the grow
ing trend.
THE REPUBLIC
OFTEXAS
A would-be ambas
sador of the Repub
lic of Texas sepa
ratist group was
rejected by the
British government
while trying to
arrange a meeting
with Queen Eliza
beth II and Prime
Minister Tony Blair.