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EDITOR IN CHIEF
Ryan Frank
EDITORIAL EDITOR
KameronCole
A reason
to
Alcohol and had judgement don’t have to
equal unruly behavior
As Halloween creeps
ever nearer, the
campus finds itself
visited by the
specter of 1997 — the year of
the riot.
But this is Eugene, after
all, and in a town like this,
which is all but notorious for
grassroots activism, a little
unrest every now again is ex
pected. Unfortunately, what
went down on 17th and
Alder last year wasn’t an ex
pression of social dissatisfac
tion, it was an exercise in
stupidity.
In the wake of similar al
cohol-related incidents
across the country, some
people have attempted to
frame the riots in a students’
rights context, namely the
right of students to drink and
not be unfairly persecuted
by the police and the univer
sities.
Sure, we will buy that.
This is Eugene, after all. Peo
ple were genuinely sur
prised when a phalanx of po
lice showed up to a party
where 300 people, some of
whom were underage, had
spilled into the streets. That
makes sense.
They were so shocked and
appalled when the cops
asked them to disperse that
they registered their dissatis
faction by pulling down
street signs and throwing
broken bottles.
The ultimate indignity for
these crusaders for student
power came when the police
threw canisters of tear gas
into their midst. They stum
bled away bleary eyed, but
still righteous. And if you
listened carefully, you could
just barely hear someone
softly humming “Kumbaya.”
If you believe that, then
we have some land in
Arkansas to sell you.
Of course, this is in sharp
contrast to the reality of the
situation, which went some
thing like this: several hun
dred people ended up at the
same party. Ignoring the very
obvious fact that a party with
so many people was not go
ing to last for too much
longer, they stuck around.
Inevitably, the police ar
rived to break up the party.
Drunk, and lacking any other
activities to Till the hours un
til morning, the people de
cided that the thing to do
was resist.
One result of this activity
has been intensified scrutiny
of off-campus parties and
their attendees.
Everyone from the Eugene
Police Department to Uni
versity Housing has tough
ened up on how they deal
with alcohol, particularly
minors and alcohol. This
means that even those stu
dents who can drink respon
sibly, if not legally, without
turning over cars or taunting
law enforcement are subject
to even more authoritarian
attention than before be
cause of the mere possibility
of another fracas.
So now the big question is
this: What can be done to
discourage more beer
drenched pandemonium
this Halloween? Perhaps we
should start by deglamoriz
ing riots.
It could just be the word
“riot” touches a primal place
in peoples’ souls, conjuring
up images of valiant strug
gles against tyranny. Maybe
if we used a more accurate
Gioimini SaHmena/Ememld
description, like “drunks be
ing morons,” it would lessen
the allure.
The best way to avoid
trouble this year? Don’t be a
dork. Common sense is the
first casualty of alcohol con
sumption. If you can’t find a
way to express your inebria
tion that doesn’t involve 40
cops, then you probably
should not drink.
Furthermore, if there are
300 people at a party by the
time you get there, turn
around and go home. The
police are probably on their
way and the keg is probably
empty.
In all honesty, we don’t
know what motivates people
to riot. Maybe they just like
the smell of tear gas. But if
you really want to riot, if
there bums within you the
desire to experience the vis
ceral thrill of civil disobedi
ence, we’re sure that you
will have no problem find
ing a more worthy cause
than simple intoxication.
This is Eugene, after all.
This editorial represents the
opinion of the Emerald editori
al board. Responses may be
sent to ode@otqgon. uonggon.edu.
Letters to the Editor
Walker understands issues
There’s a Democratic candidate
running in House District 41 who is
light years ahead of her opponent on
the issues. That candidate is Vicki
Walker, a 1978 UO graduate. She is a
strong supporter of public education,
and with two kids in the higher edu
cation system — one at the UO and
one at LCC — Vicki understands tight
budgets and the difficulties working
families and students face when it
comes to funding that education.
That’s why Vicki supports a tuition
freeze, increased funding for Oregon
Need grants and support for student
child care. If you’re looking for a can
didate who is willing to rearrange her
work schedule to help others, who
volunteers for community and school
projects and who has testified at leg
islative hearings on important issues
like teen suicide prevention, you’ve
found her. Look no further, because
that candidate is my mom.
Adam J. Walker
Pre-Business Administration
Measure 64 protects forests
In November 1996, a massive mud
slide in Douglas County, obliterated
several houses, killing four people.
The mudslide resulted from heavy
rains on a steep 160 acre clear cut.
The economic benefits to Douglas
County were layoffs and a mill clo
sure. Once their land was clear cut,
the timber company sold it and
moved on.
Measure 64 allows Oregon voters
the rare opportunity to affect forest
policy. Unfortunately, our choice has
been confused by a multi-million dol
lar campaign by the timber industry
that includes funding of studies
claiming 50 to 60 percent of timber
jobs would be lost with passage of
Measure 64. Of course, the studies are
silent on how many jobs are lost when
raw logs are continuously shipped
overseas, closing countless mills. Or
that in the past two decades, techno
logical advances have reduced by 40
percent the number of workers need
ed to mill the same without clear cut
ting. For example, the Pacific Lumber
Company of California amassed 70
percent of the world’s privately
owned old growth redwood forests
without clear cuts, pesticides or her
bicides while supporting timber
towns with 80 years of job security.
The issue for the voters is simple:
Do we want laws that require forest
health and job security from timber
companies that profit from Oregon’s
natural resources, or do we want busi
ness as usual clear cuts, mudslides,
fouled waterways, endangered
salmon and reduced tourism rev
enues. I know how I will vote, and the
blood of the victims of the next clear
cut will not be on my hands.
Brendan Kane
Law
Thumbs
s\
TO ONLINE
DEMOCRACY:
Organizations
like Corvallis
based Project
Vote Smart have
made it possible
to do everything
from registering
to looking up
your senators’
voting records
from your com
puter, it may not
be too long be
fore we can actu
ally vote in our
pajamas.
TO SEN. RON
WYDEN:
For coming to
the EMU Am
phitheater to en
courage stu
dents to vote.
Political maneu
vering, we know,
but cool
nonetheless.
TO MISINFOR
MATION:
Local candi
dates Norm Fox
and Jeff Kropf
used data from
Project Vote
Smart,anon
partisan organi
zation, and
adapted it to at
tack their oppo
nents, You know
guys, they are
nonpartisan for
a reason.
TOChAFTY
CAR THIEVES:
They found a
way to file down
keys that make it
easier to take off
with 1980s and
1990s imports.
Hmmm ...that
club with the
built in taser is
looking more
and more attrac
tive.