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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Sarah Kickler
EDITORIAL EDITOR
Mike Schmierbach
NIGHT EDITOR
Laura Cadiz
Boy Scouts should not discriminate
(business')
(CUJ&)
CHRIS HUTCHINSON/Emerald
AN EMERALD EDITORIAL
Religious beliefs and sexual
orientation should not be taken
into account for membership in
the Scouts
California seems to generate contro
versy. Whether it's banning bene
fits for immigrants or eliminating
affirmative action, the actions tak
en by the voters and courts of the state have
addressed many "hot" political questions.
Now, the California Supreme Court has
the opportunity to bring an aging institu
tion into modem times; the court is hearing
arguments in two suits filed against the
Boy Scouts of America.
One suit was filed by tw'in boys who
were expelled from an Orange County
troop because they are atheists. The other
concerns a man who was barred from a po
sition as an assistant scoutmaster because
he was revealed as being gay.
In both cases, the court must decide
whether the scouts constitute a business or
a club. If the court decides the Boy Scout
organization is the former, it will mean
drastic changes for scouting. Under federal
and state rules, businesses cannot discrim
inate against people on the basis of a vari
ety' of traits, including religion.
Discrimination against gender would
also be forbidden, which means the Scouts
would be compelled to admit girls into
their group. Currently, women are allowed
to be Explorer Scouts but cannot partici
pate in traditional troops.
There are other legal issues involved as
well, of course. The question is not as sim
ple as determining if the Boy Scouts of
America are a business.
Nevertheless, even that question is hard
ly a simple one. The legality of current
Scout policies is an issue we will leave to
the courts to decide.
Regardless of what they choose, howev
er, we think the Boy Scouts ought to admit
all interested parties into their organiza
tion. At an ethical level, it isn’t right to
deny the many opportunities scouting pre
sents just because someone doesn’t believe
in God, for example.
Not everyone wants to be a Boy Scout or
understands why the group might be ap
pealing. For many people, however, espe
cially in smaller communities, the group
offers the chance to socialize, learn and be
with other kids — opportunities that might
not otherwise be available. Conversely, for
many urban youths, the Scouts offer a
chance to learn about nature and even get
into the woods, something many kids
growing up in cities might never get to do
on their own.
Additionally, the Scouts are well
known. Membership in the Scouts can im
prove the possibility of admission to many
other organizations and schools; it pro
vides leadership experience that is valued
by the military and employers. Even if the
Scouts are neither a public agency nor a
business, they are admired by both public
and private groups.
It is particularly difficult for us to under
stand why the Scouts would deny mem
bership to atheists. Some of us were Boy
Scouts, and what we remember from our
days in blue or khaki has little to do with
God or religion.
Personal beliefs are not an integral part
of the Scouts. While the word “God" may
appear in the pledge, and while Eagle
boards might ask about religious dedica
tion, the reality of the organization is that it
emphasizes community service, a variety
of skills and an understanding of nature.
Monotheistic faith is at best tangentially re
lated.
Nevertheless, there is no reason scouting
can’t continue to use traditional pledges
and ceremonies. Allowances simply need
to be made for those who aren’t religious. If
someone doesn't want to swear to any god,
there is no reason to compel him or her to
do so.
As a whole, we admire the Scouts. Most
of their practices benefit the community.
We simply wish the group would recog
nize what its purpose should be: to im
prove the lives of youths, rather than to ar
bitrarily and unfairly discriminate against
random groups.
This editorial represents the opinion of the
Emerald editorial board. Responses may be
sent to ode@onegon.uoregon.edu
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Computer labs closed
I am writing to the Emerald to
express my Thanksgiving break
grievance and hope that it might
be published in an edition of the
paper.
Due to not being one of the for
tunate people who own a com
puter, the Microcomputing Lab
at the EMU has been my haven
for typing papers — more specifi
cally, foreign language essays. As
far as I know, it is the only com
puter lab that has the program
Foreign Language Word. This
program is a blessing for those
majoring in romance languages,
such as myself. The EMU Com
puter Lab has the most conve
nient location, and every Sunday
this entire term has been sacri
ficed to write, or rewrite, an essay
for my French 303 class. Howev
er, it was most discouraging to
find it closed, at possibly one of
the most crucial times of the
term, the weekend before Dead
Week. I came, as per usual, on
Sunday to write my last and most
important essay of the term, and
was incredibly annoyed at this
inconvenience.
In the future, I wish for the per
sonal behind this decision to
consider those faithful patrons of
the EMU Microcomputing Lab,
and to not cause such an incon
venience again. I am still typing
my papers there, but wish for my
grievance to be recognized.
Alison Lowden
Romance languages
McDonald is a puppet
I was glad to see University
Vice President Duncan McDon
ald’s words in the media once
again (ODE, Jan. 6). The more he
spews, the more the ruthlessness
with which he carries forward
the dominant paradigm at this
University becomes clear. Unfor
tunately, our tuition is going to
pay the salary of people who are
overtly against the idea of stu
dents’ freedom of thought and ex
pression. He even commanded
the Emerald to not only censor
student views that may ruffle a
few feathers among those in posi
tions of power, but that they
should spend their time and stu
dent fees vilifying and rebuking
the thoughts of students who
have put a great deal of energy
into meticulously researching the
positions on which they are not
afraid to take a stand.
What does he have to com
plain about? As opposed to the
numerous days students have to
wait for a letter to the editor to be
published in the Emerald, his
showed up the day after submis
sion. In addition, the Emerald’s
coverage of the student rally last
semester lent half of the article to
his sound bites, even giving him
the final word, and a local televi
sion station gave him an on-cam
era interview that took up more
time than that allotted to the rally
scene.
McDonald says the "dialogue
from these groups that want to
'save' the University ranges from
disingenuous to dishonest.” I
wonder what “dialogue” he is re
ferring to. Students have made
their concerns clear that dia
logue, in the form of student and
faculty representation on some of
the most important decision
making bodies responsible for
the present and future welfare of
our University, is what is truly in
need. Claudia Villena and many
others have been bringing forth a
comprehensive analysis of just
what it means that the Universi
ty is becoming more and more
dependent on private funding.
To this point, though, the efforts
have obviously fallen not on
deaf, but hostile ears.
The spine-chilling feeling that
motivated my response came
from McDonald’s line about
donors being “the real heroes.”
As spokesman for the University
administration and the Oregon
Foundation, McDonald demon
strates concisely their belief that
the ends do indeed justify the
means.
But McDonald is only a puppet
whose strings are firmly pulled
by the masters who have put him
in his public-relations position. I
have only so much time to waste
in becoming too entangled in his
rhetoric not to see the important
issues that lie behind his forceful
and overwhelmingly arrogant ve
neer. I admire the dedication of
those who have done their best in
the face of a campus atmosphere
that is too often antagonizing and
apathetic to keep the student
body and the community in
formed about what is really going
on.
Kevin Aaron
Environmental studies / sociology