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EDITOR IN CHIEF
Sarah Kickler
EDITORIAL EDITOR
Mike Schmierbach
NIGHT EDITOR
Holly Sanders
A society
fixated on nothing
CHRIS HUTCHINSON/Emerald
‘Seinfeld’ is ending and everything
would he fine ifpop culture pundits
would follow it to the grave
Talking to someone about
television can be a lot
like talking to them
about religion. Opinions
clash, ideologies are challenged,
and even when no offense is
meant, someone usually gets
huffy. With that disclaimer in
place, I’d like take this opportu
nity to discuss my personal indif
ference to the “Seinfeld” series fi
nale. Now, if my past experiences
with human behavior are any in
dication, this is right about the
point where some reader will
groan, inwardly or outwardly,
and wonder why I have to damp
en the collective excitement sur
rounding this bona fide televi
sion event. To this reader I can
offer only one justification: some
one has to do it.
On Thursday, the world will
gather around the television and
bid a collective goodbye to “Se
infeld”.
I, for my part, have never seen
the show, and I don’t intend to
watch the series finale. I have,
however, been passively aware
of the countdown for some time
now. It didn’t really matter to me
one way or the other until recent
ly, when the relentless hype
started to creep, fungus-like, into
my life. People started asking me
about my favorite episode of “Se
infeld” or my favorite character.
They seemed shocked, some
times appalled, when I told them
I didn't watch the show. It was as
if I had violated some kind of so
cial contract.
But I didn’t get really irked
until I started reading about the
gaping hole in popular culture
that would be left in the wake of
“Seinfeld’s” final episode.
Granted, this is a sentiment es
poused largely by self-pro
claimed pop culture experts,
who hardly qualify as legiti
mate authorities on anything,
even on their best days. But ac
cording to them, “Seinfeld’s”
run has been one of the defining
events of the 1990s. Its finale
will be the touchstone for the
various generations that coexist
in this pre-millennium era,
from baby boomers to their
grandchildren. And in a sense,
they’re right. “Seinfeld”, being
a show about nothing, was the
perfect complement to the
1990s, a
decade about
nothing.
The ’90s,
more than any
other time, have
been about ho
mogenization.
Meaningless
trends piled on
top of each oth
er are accepted
Kameron
Cole
as culture. This is why it is per
fectly acceptable to many people
that they can not only be defined,
but defined by something as triv
ial as a television series.
So you see, it’s not so much
“Seinfeld” that I have a problem
with; it’s the myth of mass cul
ture.
Very little of what pop culture
has produced in the last decade
can accurately be termed repre
sentative of a majority of people,
even those who willingly con
sume such products.
1 think what it ultimately
comes down to is that I have a
hard time relating to the per
ceived significance of a show
I’ve never seen. This may very
well shut me out of participation
in what I’m often told is a very
important cultural phenomenon,
but that’s okay.
I’m sure someone will tell me
all about it Friday morning.
Kameron Cole is a columnistfor
the Emerald. Her work appears on
alternate Wednesdays. Her men's
do not necessarily represent those
of the newspaper.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Fit and fortunate
As a former director of the men’s intermuraJ and recre
ational sports programs, I was pleased to be present at the
ground-breaking ceremony for a new and enlarged recre
ation and fitness center.
Congratulations are in order for all who will have taken
part from the inception to the completion of this center.
However, I wish to transmit a special thanks to the ASUO,
which has issued a promissory note to themselves and fu
ture generations of students for its payment.
Users will have the opportunity to enhance their lives ex
peditiously.
John Borchardt
Eugene
Improve communication
In light of the recent student elections, which, while not
official yet, are for the most part over, there now exists a
new group of students who are about to take control of
student government here at the University and this point
in time marks the beginning of a transitional period. There
is a great potential for the incoming group of representa
tives to start something that will take student government
to another level of effectiveness. Not only in what can be
started, but in that there are people at the formative stages
of working relationships. Thus it is imperative, in order
to achieve any significant gains on behalf of the students,
for all of those involved to make a conscious effort to cre
ate open and positive lines of communication and to
maintain those lines once they are established.
Without a doubt, this should be the foremost item on the
agenda for all of those involved. This especially means
those who are members or leaders of student-run and stu
dent-funded programs because they have access to, and in
fluence over, a large amount of resources and, more im
portantly, access to students themselves. We can, though
collaboration, easily outdo any individual effort when we
harness the collective strength of student-funded programs
that is now an unrealized potential. That potential will be
realized when we put aside individual agendas and act in a
way that benefits the student body as a whole. Through co
operation and collaboration, people become accustomed
to dealing with each other and learn how to work together
more effectively. This can be done in several ways.
First, I urge the incoming student government to make
strong efforts to foster the growth of these lines of communica
tion and to ensure that everybody on this campus has access to
their representatives. Furthermore, it is necessary to respect
the internal structure of student programs and accept that each
program is run by its own guidelines that serve it best.
Second, I want to urge the student programs to cooperate
with each other and with the student government. There has
not been a high level of collaboration among student groups,
which is unfortunate because much more could have been
accomplished on behalf of the students. I conclude by urg
ing all of these people to influence to make a point when es
tablishing your program and personal agenda to keep an
open door though which outsiders may bring an idea or a
request that may help us all.
Spencer Hamlin
Political Science
Miner misinformed
This is in response to the two letters to the editor printed
in Friday’s issue of the Emerald (ODE, May 9) and the “Open
Letter to the Campus Community” posted everywhere.
Good ol Bill Miner. He just loves to open his mouth and
let all kinds of things come out without listening to how stu
pid he sounds.
On Friday, the President and CEO of Gardenburger let
everyone know that Bill Miner doesn’t know anything about
the company he has been attacking. Not only did Bill sub
mit inaccuracies and misrepresentations” about the com
pany to the newspaper, but Gardenburger is not even affili
ated with NORPAC — the target of the boycott.
Strike one.
On another note, Bill is leading a “Committee to Re-estab
lish OSPIRG. ” Excuse me, but when did OSPIRG end? I only
recall OSPIRG being denied the incredible sum of money
that they needed ' for their budget. Since when does the ex
istence of an organization that thrives on volunteer projects
depend on whether or not they get their budget?
Don’t be fooled by this big sob-story. If OSPIRG really
wanted to continue its efforts, it could. It just wouldn’t have
the $147,000 to spend on budget items we still don’t know
about.
Strike two.
Careful Bill ... you don’t want to strike out with only a
month left of school.
Daren Welsh
Pre-engineering