▼ EDITORIAL
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF:
Sarah Kicklcr
ASSOCIATE EDITORS:
Ryan Frank & Carl Yeh
NIGHT EDITOR:
Sarah Kickler
EDITORIAL EDITOR:
Mike Schmierbach
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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