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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 1, 1998)
COSTACTING US (541)346-5511 E-MML afcftngon uoregonedu Oregon Oaiy Emerald P.0.00X3159 Eugene. Oregon 97403 ommt tom0*: uocegoc edu'-ode EDITOR IN CHIEF Sarah Kickler EDITORIAL EOITOR Mike Schmierbach NIGHT EOITOR Nicole Krueger <5 Spies CHRIS HUTCHINSON/Emerald Individual students can carry OSPIRG’s burden The statewide structure of OSPIRG isn t needed for people to u<ork on worthwhile causes Jonas Allen u D olphins, Eskimos, who cares? It's all a bunch of tree-hug ging hippie crap.” So says Cartman, the overweight, fire-farting bigot from South Park Ele mentary. The grade-schooler is a mainstay on Comedy Central's “South Park" cartoon, a weekly show about everything our dark sides would love to joke about but never seem to find the courage to actually say. That dark side has been given many different names over the years, ranging from the simple "Dark Side” of Star Wars fame to the abstract “Id” of Sigmund Freud. So while “South Park" is a relatively new cartoon, the idea of tapping into our deepest im pulses is not exactly state-of-the-art. In last week's campus elections, the student body tapped into its col lective inner-self (at least those who cared to vote) and sent a Cartman-es que message to the Oregon Student Public Interest Research Group: Screw you guys! True, the final results are on hiatus until the Constitution Court can de cide whether OSPIRG opponents broke election rules. But the almost official results are no laughing mat ter, according to OSPIRG officials. “There’s definitely some confu sion about what’s going on now that the elections are over,” said Glenda Marshall, state board chair of OS PIRG. “It's not about us having a drop in funding or not getting fund ing; OSPIRG will cease to exist on the University of Oregon campus.” Even more interesting is that there isn’t any hope for University OS PIRG members starting their own group next year. “OSPIRG is part of a statewide or ganization,” Marshall said. “In order for us to be a part of the larger statewide organization, we need to pay dues. You can’t just start up some little club” and use the OS PIRG name. Well, my name is Jonas. My room mate's name is Matt. We recycle, we don’t litter and we even avoid dump ing chemical waste down the sink. All this, and without the "OSPIRG" title tacked onto our names. The point is that to take care of the environment and each other, you don’t necessarily need to have an organization named “OSPIRG” around. OSPERG has always been about volunteers. The group excels at orga nizing environmental campaigns and is great at gathering volunteers for a common cause. But that group is made up of individuals, and there’s no reason those same indi viduals won’t be able to get together next year and clean up streams. The campus vote never said people couldn’t go out individually and raise awareness about pesticides and homelessness. The major obstacle to people who want to do those things will be how to promote and fund the activities. Of course, that’s also why OSPIRG won't be around next year. But Marshall says that’s not the main problem. “The elections weren’t about whether we'd get funding; they were about whether students wanted OS PIRG on campus,” she said. “But we’re still really looking for some sort of presence on campus next year.” Regardless of funding, there will inevitably be a presence on campus next year. That presence may not be an office in the EMU. It may not be $147,000 in funding for the program. It may not even be publicized envi ronmental cleanups. But without a doubt there will be people out there who care about the same issues OS PIRG chapters around the state will be fighting for or against. It is difficult to believe that voters refused to support helping the home less, and it’s even harder to believe that University students voted down caring for the environment. But without actually asking everyone who voted against OSPIRG why they did so, there’s no way to know for sure. Because that’s not necessarily the most ethical or legal thing to do, students will just have to watch what happens now that the votes have been counted. “I think that there’s a lot of hope for students to see OSPIRG on cam pus if the Constitution Court decides to allow students to vote again,” Marshall said. With or without OSPIRG, howev er, there will still be students who care about Cartman’s “hippie crap.” Jonas Allen is a columnist for the Emer ald. His work appears on alternate Fri days. His opinions do not necessarily represent those of the newspaper. READERS' VOICES Do you think the EMU Amphitheater was worth the money? “I think so. I’m sort of biased though, I like the music. I certainly see more people down there than I did before.” Holly Ferguson Graduate student “I think so. The outside area was looking pret ty old and ragged." Jacob Armstrong Environmental Studies “tfstooearty to judge whether the amphitheater was worth the money, but the outdoor festivities that the students have been dealt the last week have definitely proven its importance to the community.” Mike Zibelman Music “Yes, it’s a nicer design. I'm an architecture student—it’s a lot nicer layout. It looks like it has a lot more flexibili ty for different activities." Steve Rainey Architecture “It’s hard to tell so far be cause I haven't seen anything happen there re ally, except for bands playing there for a few hours during the daytime." Crystal Broch Humanities “No, I don't even remember what was there before because it's been so long in the wordings. What's it been used for so far? Nothing — people sit in the sun. They could have done that on a piece of grass.” Geoff Schott Graduate student LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Return survey As a fellow student and manager of the West University survey pro ject, I cannot stress how important it is to respond to the questionnaire if you received a copy. We have the at tention of people at the city who sin cerely wish to improve the quality of life in the neighborhood. The more responses that are turned in, the more weight your voices carry. This is not just a numbers game. If we can generate over 400 returned surveys, the reliability factor will lie very high and give the city much more reason to pay attention what we have to say. If you receive a survey, take a few moments, fill it out and mail it back to the city. It is your chance to be heard and have it make a dif ference. Ron Funke Planning, Public Policy and Management
