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