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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 4, 1998)
- ©regc»t#l€meralli NEWSROOM: (541)346-5511 E-MAIL ode<psoregon. uwegwi.edu ON-LINE EDITION: \tf*,w.uoregon.edu/~ode EDITOR IN CHIEF Ryan Frank EDITORIAL EDITOR Kameron Cole John Glenn’s voyage inspires awe John Glenn’s second voyage to space gives NASA an opportunity to rebuild an American dream There are few days when we can take a pause and ex amine, as Americans, where we have been and where we are going. Few days when we determine the pattern that will weave our cultural fabric. When John Glenn, at the age of 77, boosted back into space, it was a day for us to reaffirm a condition that is more or less a part of our collective human identity; the belief that great things can be achieved when we work together. Glenn’s voyage provides Americans with the opportuni ty to look at space, our relationships with each other and where we are going as a nation. Unified, at least temporari ly, with a sense of national identity. And unified with a sense ofhuman identity. The bigger picture — our world and our place in the universe. This is also ar. opportunity for NASA to rebuild a long Opinion James Scripps term space program, and a cnance to ensure its future by becoming new to the middle school generation. It is also a chance to re vive the school-age dreams that disappeared for us when the Space Shuttle Challenger ex ploded 12 years ago. Putting Glenn into space is probably not necessary for the scientific knowledge that he will bring back. It is simply an attempt to rebuild NASA’s image. And despite the transparency of NASA’s public relations machine, there is something important and noble about how NASA is positioning itself and the United states tor a revival ot the frontier spirit that played such an integral role in the cre ation of the space program. Glenn's role in this strategy is to reinvigorate the debates and questions that fueled the movement which made him the first human in space 36 years ago. It was the challenge of "new horizons” in science and culture that spirited inter national competition to be the first country to claim the greatest expanse known to humankind. Nearly four decades later, the space race has come to rep resent something bigger than the achievement of one coun try pitted against another. Humankind looks to the skies not to achieve domination, but to achieve cooperative enlight enment. Our greatest test has been aboard the space stations Alpha and Mir where we learned that humans cannot work in space with the same uncompromising diplomacy with which we work on Earth. Space must be different. Glenn’s second odyssey serves a dual purpose for NASA and the future of the space program. First, it makes us accept the fact that there will soon be a day when space travel will not be as technically restricted. You will simply be able to buy a ticket and fly. Second, it prepares us for NASA’s great est frontier challenge ever- the manned mission to mars. But in addition to giving us a glimpse into the future, this trip allows us to look into the past. Thus, in a roundabout Gioi 'em ni Salimena/Emerald way, we can experience the world in a way that our parents experienced it. It is often asked of their generation, “Where were you when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon?" Most respond that they were somewhere watching TV, listening to the scripted dialogue: “One small step for man, one giant leap ■ for mankind” It was a shared mo ment of great magnitude. It’s impossible for me to imag me uie mumem. it was one oi me great est turning points in modem history. But for a split-second on Thursday, as the Space Shuttle Dis covery lifted off to embark on its historic journey, I felt con nected to that day when Americans and the world watched in awe as the frontier of the universe unfolded before them. James Scripps is a student abilities reporter for the Emerald. His views do not necessarily represent those of the newspaper. Letters to the Editor Rioters in the wrong Thank you for speaking for the majority. I agree with your riot editorial (ODE 10/29) and I am glad to know that the student pa per, the voice of the students of the Univer sity, is focusing on the real issues and does not look for scapegoats, be they the police or the media. Alcohol and a bunch of trouble seeking, police bashing idiots do not mix. And they are even proud of what they did! I love the University, and 1 am proud of being here. I am definitely not going to let some drunken minority spoil this for me. If [the rioters] want to rip down signs and de stroy lamps, why don’t they do it in their own houses? Matthias Kubr Environmental Studies Riots are like a pimple This letter is in response to the editorial published on the web version of the ODE for 11/2/98. Although I am only able to visit the University of Oregon via the web from Min neapolis, I appreciate knowing that the uni versity that 1 graduated from is alive and well. While my time at the University was almost ten years ago, I still feel a connection to this great institution and the city of Eugene. In what may be a first for me, I am in com plete agreement with the thoughts and opin ions expressed by the editors: specifically regarding the Halloween riots. I refuse to be lieve that a small number of miscreants should be able to infect the University with such self-centered nonsense as that which was quoted in the paper. These retarded he donists should be recognized for who they are: immature individuals who wish to have no consequences for their actions. These people have no respect for themselves nor for others. If, as Mr. Blume points out “it’s a U of O tradition,” then when did breaking the law become part of the UO tradition? When did disrespect for police and our neighbors become part of our common her itage? I dare say it never has been and hope fully it never will. Maybe we should feel sorry for these mis guided individuals. Maybe we should recog nize that they have a God-given “right” to party and destroy other peoples’ property. Maybe we should be tolerant of their unique “party” lifestyle. Or maybe we should call it as we see it and condemn immature behav ior by a bunch of spoiled brats. The situation is like a pimple on the University's collective backside that simply needs to be squeezed. Joe Seidel University Graduate Police should share blame My name is Matthew Rutman, I am a ju nior at the University of Oregon and a mem ber of the Student Cooperative Association. On Halloween night I had the extreme mis fortune of being present while the Eugene Police Department “took action” outside of the Campbell Club, which was having a non-keg party with internal security. I watched the police drive down Alder Street in SWAT vans, paddy wagons and pa trol cars. I watched them gather their forces across the streets under a swathe of bright lights at the tennis courts. I watched them chase people down like cattle at slaughter time-tackling and arresting several in our al ley. Never did I see the police behave in a proactive way. Never did I see them trying to diffuse the situation by using their PA sys tems or attempting to talk to the people. They waited and watched the crowds grow. Meanwhile the crowds were watching the police, getting angry and frustrated, That’s when they [tire crowd] started acting aggres sive and pulling out a few signs. In my opinion a lot of the violent acts were in response to the presence and manner of the police at the scene. How can we respect police when our ex periences with them time after time have been negative. We have seen them spray our friends with pepper spray, tear gas groups of people gathering on the streets and harass people at parties. We haven’t seen them in a proactive way that inspires respect. We haven’t seen them bust the methampheta mine dealers that haunt our streets. We’ve only seen them write up minor in posses sion tickets and shoot tear gas canisters at us. Priorities need to be set for our police de partment. Since they can’t seem too that on their own. I think it’s time for a citizen re view board to help them do it. Matthew Rutman _ University Junior CORRECTION In the caption accompanying the story “Po lice confront riot problem”(ODE, Nov. 2), the man in the picture should have been identified as Rick Dancer, a KEZI-TV reporter, recording police footage of Saturday’s riot. The Emerald regrets the error.