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Perspectives
Shuttle promotes safety, so it should have safe vehicles
Aw EMERALD EDITORIAL
The ASUO Executive is making a mistake by
punishing the Designated Driver Shuttle
Most people have seen the ads warning against
drinking and driving. A grainy home video of a
happy child is abruptly ended by a message
saying he or she was killed by a drunken driver.
Although these messages are becoming more and more
disturbing in order to capture the public’s attention, they of
ten still drone on in the background as just another ad. That's
why it is encouraging that the ASUO has the Designated Dri
ver Shuttle, an entity that does more than simply fade in a
jumble of messages. However, having this organization on
campus does the University no good without the shuttles be
ing in operation.
The two-van fleet for this organization, which by its very
existence promotes safety, is currently in a budget dispute
within the ASUO that is doing more harm than good.
Despite its political difficulties, DDS still serves sever
al important roles in the University community. DDS is
active in preventing drunken driving and is a role model
for proper use of alcohol. Most people know that driving
under the influence of intoxicants is a particularly haz
ardous activity, and DDS is a campus organization that
combats this behavior.
Last spring, students recognized the importance of DDS
and voted to give the organization $50,000 to extend its op
eration to seven days a week. Students also defeated a ballot
measure that would have allocated money for DDS to pur
chase a new van. Soon after the ballot measure's passage,
the Oregon University System unintentionally approved a
DDS budget of $76,212, giving the group an additional
$26,212. The added money came from an preliminary allo
cation by the ASUO Programs Finance Committee, but it
became generally understood that DDS would operate
within a $50,000 budget, despite the mistake.
This understanding seemed to be working well until the
ASUO Executive indefinitely froze the DDS budget on July
12 largely because director Brandon Smith attempted to
purchase a van for $16,383. According to the executive,
Smith's action "directly violates the wishes of the students"
because students had defeated the second ballot measure
in the spring.
According to Smith, the new van was intended to re
place one of the two vans currently in operation, and not to
serve as a third vehicle. But at the time Smith made those
remarks last week, there weren't any vans in operation.
One of the vans had bad steering and transmission, he
said. In short, the vans were not safe to run.
Shouldn't this situation be simple to resolve? Of course
it should. If the vans don't work, shouldn't the organization
have the right to purchase new ones? Of course it should.
This is an organization dedicated to keeping the Univer
sity and its roads safe for everyone. The actions would de
feat the mission's purpose if DDS began running unsafe
vans to shuttle students. The ASUO Executive is flexing its
muscle at the wrong time and in the wrong situation. DDS
provides the University and the ASUO with a chance to set
an example and provide leadership to students and com
munity members, and that opportunity is simply stifled
when the shuttle can't run safely.
This editorial represents the opinion of the Emerald editorial
hoard. Responses may he sent to ode@oregon .uoregon.edu.
Drawing Board
A. RIGHT next to
„ BILL CLINTON..
-SK?
WE HAVE
DtMOCRACy
* RUSSIA
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
toffee taste ignored
According to Theresa Cole
man-Kaiser, director of food ser
vices for the EMU, the recent
choice of Seattle Coffee Co. as offi
cial vendor for the student build
ing was "interesting" (ODE, July
21). Perhaps so, but to anyone
who has followed the Universi
ty's behavior toward business and
the Eugene community as well as
the history of the coffee choice,
the decision should be anything
but shocking.
Once again, the selection com
mittee has chosen style over sub
stance. "Marketing and promo
tion of the company" were
significant factors in the decision;
taste and cost obviously were not.
In the previous, voided effort to
pick a vendor, Seattle Coffee lost
badly to other candidates in both
taste and cost, yet was chosen in
the final round based largely on
their well-polished presentation.
Choosing companies based on
the strength of their marketing
doesn't serve the interests of the
students. The choice should have
been primarily about taste and
cost, the two things that matter for
the student consumer.
If the University were going to
look at other factors, perhaps it
should have considered the labor
records of the companies and
their coffee suppliers, the use of
organic and shade-grown beans
(two more ecologically sound
practices) and even the proximity
of the company to the University.
Eugene and the school are inter
twined; both rely upon the com
munity built by the other. A
spokesman for Seattle Coffee said
the firm feels "as if we're a local
company." In reality, they are
anything but. Helping a truly lo
cal business would have im
proved the University's ties to Eu
gene and strengthened the
community from which the
school draws support.
The selection committee could
have opted to support students,
the planet, workers and even the
Eugene area with its decision. In
stead, University officals have
once again shown where their true
interests he: in increasing the pow
erful hold large corporations have
over our education and lives.
Mike Schmierbach
Portland
Laws apply to all
Akili Smith and Co. were de
nied access to a local nightclub
because they did not have the
proper identification. Oregon law
requires all patrons to have proof
of ID. This is not the establish
ment’s responsability.
According to the Oregon Daily
Emerald (July 21), “Smith and Mc
Cullough were trying to attract the
attention of former Duck offensive
lineman Paul Wiggens, who was
inside the club and thought to
have some pull with the owner
ship. This was supposed to serve
as a means to gain entrance for
Smith and McCullough, according
to the police report.” What makes
Smith and Co. think that they can
disobey the laws of the liquor con
trol? People have to obey the laws,
so why shouldn’t they?
I blame society for putting so
much value on sports. The ath
letes need to realize that they are
human, and one wrong move on
the field could end their special
treatment real quick.
Craig Wisniewski
Psychology
Exclusion unfair
There is something instructive
about watching the University of
Oregon faculty at work on topics
Middle Eastern. Their endeavors
give us no idea of the 50 years of
suffering, injustice, racism and ex
clusion experienced by the Pales
tinians under Israeli occupation.
No less a crime is the politics of
exclusion practiced and main
tained over the years by the
American supporters of Israel at
the publicly funded University of
Oregon. Since no Muslim Middle
Eastem-American social scien
tists are among the faculty, the in
struction and debate on Middle
Eastern courses (if offered) and
seminars (if given) are organized
and controlled by faculty mem
bers who have pro-Israel biases.
There is no center of Islamic stud
ies at the University. However, there
will be a center for Judaic studies.
To add insult to injury, the Linguis
tic Department has begun recruit
ment for a modem Israeli Hebrew
instructor, while instruction in Ara
bic, Turkish, Kurdish and Farsi lan
guages is shamefully ignored.
University administrators
should integrate Muslim Middle
Eastern scholars into tenured po
sitions to protect them from ha
rassment and instill fairness and
balance in instruction, not to men
tion vitality to the marketplace of
ideas. A center for Islamic studies
should be created and courses on
Middle East politics, societies and
literature become permanent ad
ditions to the curricula.
Exclusion and racism at the
University must end.
M. Reza Behnam, Ph.D.
Eugene
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Thursday during the summer by the Oregon Daily Emer
ald Publishing Co. Inc., at the University of Oregon, Eu
gene. Oregon. A member ot the Associated Press, the
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of papers is prosecutable by law.
9 UnuMH rw/.. r«_.aU T._,
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