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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 29, 1997)
▼ EDITORIAL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Steven Anbury MANAGING EDITOR: Thom Schoenbom NIGHT EDITOR: Mike Schmierbach & Shannon Sneed 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 Learning life’s lessons, in class and out For this columnist, the University was a place full of wisdom and the people who teach it It took me a long time to get that puzzle right. You know the one: Using only eight lines, draw the figure of a house without lifting up your pencil. Now of course, be OPINION uauac i vc piciL, ticed, I can work that one with my eyes closed. Usually, dur ing an especial ly exhaustive lecture, the puz zle will come to mind, and I’ll do a bunch of little houses in the margins without lifting up my pen. So, I’ve mastered that one. I now ponder what I have learned in my 22 years and, in particular, what I’ve gotten out of this University. I know my social security number better than I know my hair color, and my PAC code will uselessly stay with me for a long time to come. But what do I really know? It seems that the majority of my most useful knowl edge was not gained in any class room. I know that if you hold a beer bottle around the neck while drinking, it will stay colder longer. If you break your cigarette right near the filter, you can stick the filter in the other end and smoke it anyway. I know that a complete meal for five bucks makes a fine restaurant. And, if you put out the right bait, you can hook a liberal every time. One of the most valuable things I did learn in a classroom is that I can sleep in almost any position, at any time, no matter how uncomfortable the conditions. However, that is not to totally discredit the people who have been a big part of my education and an inspiration to me. So, here is my open letter to some people who I think made a difference and who I will remember with re spect and admiration. If you ever have a chance to get to know any of these people, do it. You won’t be dis appointed. Thank you to: Comparative literature GTF Bradley Butterfield for creating an in tellectual hideaway in his classroom and a syllabus as enjoyable as it was challenging. It’s rare to find people whom you will seek out and take their classes over and over again. “You see, sir, I’m not obstinate, and I’m willing to work; traveling is a hard life, but I couldn’t live without it.” Physics Professor Bob Zimmerman for making me look at the stars and wonder, perplexed, at the meaning of everything; for pointing out to me that Mars can’t look yellow because it’s the Red Planet, for Christ’s sake; and that, even though the sim will ex pand and die, the earth will be en veloped and die and that life as we know it will eventually die, the Pleiades are a beauty to behold. Journalism GTF Lauren Danner for having an innate enthusiasm for jour nalism and the career of writing. I will never forget her words about the importance of even the small pieces, like high school graduation an nouncements, because they mean something to somebody. English instructor Paul Dresman for being one hep cat, for having the courage to teach a course on beat po etry, for grading tough and for snarling like a hipster and dressing like a square. I wish you the best wherever you are and in whatever you do. Journalism Professor Arnold Ismach for just being one cool guy; for ensuring that every class had a hint of unbalance; and, though you have years of experience under your belt, for being humble enough to say, “Oh really? I never thought of it that way.” Philosophy Professor Cheyney Ryan for teaching one of my most fa vorite classes, an unexpected sur prise, Philosophy of Film, and for giving us all a newfound respect for the good ol’ American Western. Although, you did ruin It’s a Won derful Life for me. Associate Journalism Professors Tim Gleason for never bullshitting; Carl Bybee for being an idealist and for creating the world’s best “Info Hell” class; Tom Wheeler for teach ing me that editors aren’t always nice. And last, but not least, University communications director Tom Hager for wrapping up my college career and being nice enough to say, if not in so many words, “Hey, you might be a good writer.” I’m sure I’m forgetting people, but it has been a long four years. I want to stay a student forever almost as much as I want to get out of here. However, I have picked up a few useful tools, I’ll admit. And a handful of people here should be proud to know that they really made a difference. Thanks and good luck to all of you. Amanda Erickson, a senior majoring in journalism, is a columnist for the Emerald. Her views do not necessari ly reflect those of the newspaper. E-mail: aericks@gladstone. uoregon.edu. . <£X r*^tvA r really 0U6«r TO THANK TVfE PLDftJbA beFT. OP CORRECTIONS SOME ^ ■nN\e ..TUEVAi>ie^s i dosocua/v/OET w JQ&OP BREAKING- U IK THE \ CLIENTELE... WEAPONRY nr Tin: AIR FORCE 8 52 UX- RAMCt BawSWR. I AWAC.S AIKBOC~f SuRVSIUANtt WSTtM f te TACriCAl FIGHTER*. M1NUTEMAN WrtFCONNWNTM. SAUOTC MISSIU.. A-bomb CAPAine or avH3wu.„. On May 20, the director of the Communication Disorders and Sciences program was misidentified as Jane McDonald. The director of the academic program is in fact Marilyn Nippold.Jane McDonald is the director of the CDS clinic, another part of the Speech-Lan guage-Hearing Center at the University. The Emerald regrets the error. LETTERS Equal rights Since you asked for it [ODE, May 21), here’s my opinion. I basically agree with Chen Zheng Ar Rashid’s opinion as expressed in a letter printed in the Emerald on Tuesday, May 20. I, too, believe that there is nothing ob scene about women’s breasts. Women’s bodies are no more obscene than men’s, and it’s simply unfair to have different standards for men and women. If the city of Eugene passes an ordinance that bans bare female breasts (which I think is ridiculous) then at least I demand equal restrictions for men. I’m not an anti-male feminist and I don’t want any privileges for women, but I strong ly believe in equality. And if women are not allowed to walk topless in the mall, why then should men be allowed to do so? Furthermore, I also strongly agree that if topless women were commonplace then fe male breasts would cease be objects of mys tique and sexual allure. Now, that might be bad for the profit of some magazine owners who rely on just that allure to sell their mag azines, but I believe it would help increase respect for the female body in society and create a healthier social climate. SonjaG.Schirmer Math Department Inappropriate behavior I believe myself to be a very liberal-mind ed individual, but I don’t agree with your as sertion in the May 21 editorial that women should be allowed to walk around topless anywhere. While on the beach it may be an appropri ate behavior, in the city’s mall it is not. More than anything it is disrespectful and inconsiderate to the other people in the mall. I would be displeased to see a 16-year old girl parading topless through the mall as was described in your article, the same as I would be if it were a man who had declined to wear his pants. I don’t want to see it. Not to imply that I don’t believe women’s breasts to be beauti ful. I am certainly not “living in fear.” But unfortunately we don’t live in a society that universally reveres the beauties of the hu man female form. We live in one that all too often regards women as mindless sexual ob jects. We need to start working on focusing the eyes of those with such views on our achievements, on the products of our minds, not on the content of our bras. Come on guys, women really aren’t liberating themselves by baring their breasts in the mall. Michelle Lynn Sorensen Biology All thumbs THE PREFONTAINE CLASSIC Even bad weather couldn’t stop the Prefontaine Classic last weekend. Not only did the annual track and field meet sell out, but big names such as Carl Lewis and Michael Johnson brought the “Track Town” feeling back to Hayward Field. CENTRAL HIGH SENIORS The seniors at Cen tral High School in Grand Forks, N.D., graduated from what was anything but a normal year. Massive flooding that caused an esti mated $40 million worth of damage to Central High School forced students to spend more time piling sandbags than sitting in the classroom, but de spite it all, the 262 seniors managed to graduate. INCIDENTAL FEE LEGISLATION An amended version of a House bill designed to eliminate the inci dental fee from tfie University now only includes groups that are politically active. What exactly “politically active” is supposed to mean is anyone’s guess, but it sounds suspicious to us, ALCOHOL AWARENESS WEEK Last week was Al cohol Awareness Week, not that any one knew. Even the owner of the bar Taylor’s, located right off campus, was unaware of what was going on. It’s no wonder— besides one exhibit on drunk driving, last week seemed to be like any other week of the term.
