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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (July 8, 1997)
▼ EDITORIAL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Sarah Kicklcr ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Ryan Frank & Carl Yeh NIGHT EDITOR: Sarah Kickler EDITORIAL EDITOR: Mike Schmierbach editorials, letters, commentary and perspective NEWSROOM: (541)346-5511 DISPLAY ADVERTISING: (541)346-3712 BUSINESS OFFICE: (541) 346-5512 CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING: (541) 346-4343 The flrawin Board ADULTEROUS AIRFORCE woman... HERTS YOUR GENERAL DISCHARGE.. ADULTEROUS AIR FORCE MAN.. „l DISCHARGE YOU FROM BLAME, GENERAL. Legislative session has its ups and downs ■ OUR OPINION: The government did some good for higher education this session with the tuition freeze, but more could have been done Now they can go home. After a 174-day session, the Legisla ture wrapped up business over the week end and slipped away in the middle of the night. Now Oregon’s part-time leaders can re turn to the business and social interests that govern most of their lives and can at time influence their policies. They didn't leave much of a legacy. There were few drastic policies passed by the Legislature, good or bad. Mistakes were made, particularly when it came time to respect the will of the voters. Good decisions were also made, such as providing need ed money for schools and higher education. A Senate dominated by conservative Republi cans combined with a mixed House and progres sive governor in failing to accomplish much. Some of the most aggravating bills didn’t pass. Eugene’s toxic reporting law stands; a legislative attempt to overturn it failed. Efforts to end student fees as we know them were also blocked. Other unfortunate bills slipped through. A tax break for timber companies passed, as did a bill re criminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana. For college students, the most important part of the session went fairly well. Higher education’s $577 million budget, the first increase in three ses sions, will provide a much-needed tuition freeze over the next two years. Additionally, the Univer sity system received $7.5 million to help recruit and retain faculty. It may not prove enough to com pete with private institutions for valued professors, but it will help. Other schools benefited as well. While Portland will still have to make massive cuts because of the equity in school funding required under a variety of ballot measures and bills, many school districts will finally be able to put aside the budget axe after years of hacking because of Measure 5. While schools and social services both received important funds, more could have been spent. Schools and universities have taken such massive cuts that it would take a great influx of money to re store important programs and staff positions. This money could have come from a proposal by Gov. Kitzhaber to retain the so-called “kicker.” The kicker is the legally mandated return of state income taxes collected above budgeted amounts. This year, the money amounts to a tax refund of $447 million, much of which will go to businesses. It might be nice to get your share of the refund in the mail, but the money could be better spent. Not only could schools and services use more, but parks and transportation suffered. The horrible possibility that parks across the state would close was avoided, but the system is still relying upon increased fees and reduced hours, as are many recreational services across the state. Transportation took a massive hit, as the leg islature failed to pass a bill to provide increased revenue to repair crumbling roads. Money from the kicker could certainly have been used for trans portation and recreation. A more alarming legislative trend developed as well. In several instances, the legislature proved unwilling to accept the mandate of the voters. In attempting to overturn the anti-toxins law, law makers who claim to be interested in increasing community control were all too willing to squash the will of Eugene’s citizens. Similarly, legislators who had a personal objec tion to assisted-suicide, which voters narrowly ap proved a few years back, decided the voters must not have known what they were doing. In an offen sive display of paternalism, they decided to send the issue back to the ballot. Perhaps most alarming of all was the Measure 50 fiasco. Not only did the legislature decide to re work Measure 47 to hide some of the harms of the property tax bill, but they openly intervened in the elections process. First, they coerced voters by in sisting Measure 47, as written, would be struck down by the courts. Then, in a move insulting to the democratic process, they rewrote the measure after a quarter of voters had already turned in their ballots. Perhaps Measure 47 would have been rejected by the courts. After the treachery by the Legislature concerning Measure 50, the rejection of this “con stitution-friendly” revision by the Oregon Supreme Court is not only likely, but welcome.Af ter watching the latest session, voters may be won dering that anyway. Compared to past sessions, in which the progressive spirit of Oregon has mani fested itself in ways that led the nation, this unim pressive session provided little reason for Oregoni ans to care. Everyone got some money, no one got enough, businesses generally came out ahead, and individuals didn’t fall too far behind. This editorial represents the opinion of the Emer ald editorial board. Responses maybe sent to ode@oregon.uoregon.edu. Quoted ! “For new students \ on campus, I think it’s fair to warn them that setting your backpack down and going away for two minutes can result in theft.” Sgt. Dave Poppe, on the need to s stay alert during \ these lazy | summer days, § quoted in the July i 1 Emerald. I “A lot of these kids I are from small towns where they j may be the only j kid in school interested in writing poetry.” j Bobbie Blackwell, ] director of the i Summer j Enrichment j Program, on students attending summer camp at ! the University. I Let's just hope 1 they know not to I set their I backpacks down. \ ‘The Rough Rider j newspaper at Roosevelt Middle School recently sent two investigative reporters on an important mission: find the best french fries around.” And the Register- j Guard recently filled space using j this story, in the [ Monday issue to be exact. “The crimes of the United States throughout the world have been systematic, remorseless and fully documented, but nobody talks about them. Nobody ever has.” Harold Pinter, writing in the Feb. Z Magazine. I guess they have more important things to cover. Goirections In the June 26 Emerald, it was reported that Neill Archer Roan is the executive di rector of the Bach Festival. In fact, he re tired in April and Royce Saltzman is the di rector in the interim. In the July 1 Emerald, it was reported that University Housing residents will pay for none of the $2 million Bean Hall con struction project. In fact, residents will be paying back the bonds over a 30-year peri od and will experience a slight increase in costs. In the July 3 Emerald, Bobbie Blackwell was not fully identified. She is the director of the Summer Enrichment Program. The Emerald regrets the errors. READER VOICES What would you do if you were organizing a mission to Mars? “This planet is going to be overcrowded and over-polluted, so we could send the ex tra people and pollu tion there.” Elizabeth Boehm Senior Biology “[I would] try to find some type of life, be cause that would an swer a lot of ques tions.” Jacob Todd Junior Fine arts “I’d take most of the money and spend it on education to make sure that we will have a healthy future gen eration that can use the information we find." Molly Sloan Graduate student Education “I’d go on a hover ad venture there, and then [I’d] leave it alone." Nicole Wheelwright Senior Fine arts “I’d spend the money on a more construc tive issue like food and medicine for the hungry people of the world." Jung HongKyoo Student American English Institute “I don’t want to go there because I’d have vertigo.” Mary I in Fourdin Graduate student International studies
