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EDITOR IN CHIEF
Ryan Frank
EDITORIAL EDITORS
Jonas Allen, Kameron Cole
Partying students
deserve to be
left alone
Authorities should treat
parties as celebrations of
youth, not self-destruction
Picture this: A two-story, crumbling
timber residence that lies near our
jaunty campus finds itself inundat
ed with people on a Friday or
Saturday night. About 100 or so hap
py, attractive guys and beautiful col
lege girls jam the place and seem to be
having a pretty classic time as the
evening rolls by.
In the middle of the liv
ing-room-turned dance
floor, a bevy of sweaty,
writhing bodies gyrate
with ecstasy as the boister
ous music vibrates
through their
long, strong,
supple limbs.
A couple of
feet from the ex
hilarating dance
deck, toward the
back of the merry, lit
tie hovel, a handful of
boys hangs out, smoking cigarettes and
sucking down the golden fluid that profuse
Opinion
Vince
Medeiros
l v oozes from the three kegs
in the backyard right next to
the corroding barbecue.
Coming from a hazy room
upstairs, a smoking device
can barely be heard above
the deafening din. And on
the front porch, about 10
people hang out, cracking
jokes, drinking and smoking
and laughing at the incon
gruities and ironies of life in
Eugene.
All in all, it’s a top social
gathering. All the revelers having a great
time at yet just another classic house party
in the surroundings of our beloved Univer
sity campus in Eugene. Until...
Out in the distance, about a mile up the
road, the unmistakable spinning blue lights
of a patrol car trundle toward the house. Un
easiness overwhelms all partygoers as the
unfortunate news spreads like an Ebola orgy
in a third-world slum.
Busted.
A well-armed cop car pulls up in front of
the "law-violating” domicile, and two offi
cers promptly jump out and march toward
the house. Underage kids panic and flee
through the back door faster than Banrbi try
ing to escape a sanguinary leopard in the
African Savannah.
Others, in the imminence of having to
submit themselves to a humiliating cavity
search, take off like lightning. And the party
veterans, who are sick of the same old
ridiculous scene, attempt to keep the rage
going but leave because no one else seems to
be staying around.
Everyone out. Party is over.
Does this look familiar to you, dear read
ers? The answer is yes, I’d wager.
Dozens of classic parties like the one de
scribed above go down every weekend in
Eugene. Students merely gather in fun to un
wind and enjoy a little bit of their youth be
fore they marry, have children, embrace a
boring corporate job and move into one of
those tragic new suburbs.
We all know there is nothing vile, crimi
nal or depraved about having a little bit of
fun. In fact, the whole world parties on the
weekend. And the whole world drinks and
smokes and dances and makes a little bit of
noise on weekends. It’s basically an inher
ent aspect of human nature.
And we’re all human, aren't we?
However, for some sinister, unknown rea
son, local law enforcers entertain the idea
that these gatherings represent a menace to
society. Dangerous get-togethers, these are.
But the fact is,'they’re wrong. Eugene po
Chris Hutchinson Emerald
lice should
be more tol
erant of these
students and
limit their
use of cita
tions, cuffs, coercion and
terror.
Let the kids make a bit of
noise, suck down great
amounts of beer and enjoy
their transient lives while
they’re young. Because, as
most police officers in Eugene probably
know, one minute you’re fit and ready for a
run down the coast or up the slopes anytime
of the day.
One minute you’re surrounded by friends
who are always pushing you to try new
things and experience every little bit of the
recreational side of life. One minute your
body rages with adrenalin because you
scored a top grade in a 400-level course and
your hormones are as alive as a newborn in
fant. always on the prowl for some new,
wild, libidinous action.
The next minute it’s all gone, baby. And
life has flashed past vour eyes and you did
n’t even notice.
So let the kids party, sirs. Please, let the
kids party.
I ince Medeiros is a columnistfor the Emerald.
His icorii appears on alternate Fridays. His
i ieu s do not necessarily represent those of the
newspaper.
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