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EDITOR IN CHIEF
Ryan Frank
EDITORIAL EDITORS
KameronCole
Stefanie Knowlton
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Oregon universities have suffered
funding cuts long enough; the budget
needs to be passed in our favor
BO**"
Finally, someone is listening.
Students have fought long
and hard for a tuition freeze
and other much-needed fund
ing for Oregon universities.
The higher education budget was ap
proved Tuesday in the House Ways and
the Means Education Committee at $87 mil
lion, which includes a tuition freeze. The
Oregon University System originally
asked for $116 million to implement a
new funding model that was designed
to create a more efficient higher edu
cation system.
If you consider the funding the
education committee put into
separate bills for higher edu
cation, the $87 million
comes closer to $100 mil
lion.
This is the highest in
crease since the late 1970s
and it is about time.
Higher education fund
ing has suffered greatly as
a result of Measures 5
and 47, property tax re
duction bills that
■A
(r
took money away from
school spending in the
early ’90s.
Although solutions for el
ementary and secondary edu
cation funding have been ex
amined in the last few years,
little has been done to repair
the damage these two measures
have done to higher education.
In response, tuition has
skyrocketed by 80 per
cent in the last 10
years, making edu
cation for some
students diffi
cult— if not
impossible.
All this
may
change
soon, or at
least slow
down, if
the Ore
gon Uni
versity
System’s
budget
model is adopted by the senate and signed by Gov.
John Kitzhaber.
Easier said than done.
Although the senate may support the budget,
the governor told legislators he will veto any pro
posal that exceeds his recommended amount.
The governor originally proposed $74 million
for higher education and is not expected to com
mit another $13 million, even if the budget is his
pet project.
The OUS model has been redesigned to promote
efficiency and funnel money where it’s needed.
Kitzhaber spent four years researching and de
signing the new model that’s being debated, but he
is squeezed between spending on higher educa
tion andK-12.
Ultimately, it will be up to him whether this
budget passes and students get a much-needed tu
ition freeze.
When you look at kids, prisons, disabled people
and college students, it is not hard to see why we
get the short end of the stick.
College students have been enduring the brunt
of the cuts for too long. If tuition continues to grow
at this rate, fewer and fewer Oregon residents will
be able to afford college in Oregon.
Spending on K-12 may be needed, but if you
don’t back that up with a strong higher education
system, those graduates will leave and take their
expensive education and tax dollars with them.
Kitzhaber, we understand you have to make
tough decisions, but do not forget college stu
dents in the process.
' This editorial represents the opinion of the Emerald
editorial board. Responses may be sent to ode@ore
gon.uoregon.edu.
Letters to the Editor .
Milosevic not a victim
In Vince Medeiros’ column (ODE,
April 16), Slobodan Milosevic was
portrayed as the victim of bullying by
NATO. His behavior in the Bosnian
War proves otherwise.
The invasion of Kosovo mirrors that
of the Bosnian War, with specific em
phasis placed on the invasion of Sre
brenica.
The Republika Srpska Army and Serb
nationalists called Arkanovci, a.k.a
Arkan’s Tigers, are some of the most vi
cious militiamen in the service of Milo
sevic. Kosovar citizens sought the in
volvement of NATO. It is not arbitrary.
To simply abstain from involve
ment would be to condone the behav
ior of Milosevic and his minions. His
advisers, Gen. Ratko Mladic and
Rodovan Karadzic, have been brought
to trial at the Hague on charges of
crimes against humanity. What does
this say about their leader?
Involvement .of the United Nations
is explained in Article 51, the right of
collective self-defense. In Chapter VII
of the U.N. Charter, the council found
that “there was a threat to the peace,
breach of the peace or act of aggression
of an international character.” Con
cern was expressed in 1998 in Security
Council Resolution 1199.
It included “reports of violations of
human rights and of international hu
manitarian law.” I realize that you
have a deadline, but next time you
want to write a column about interna
tional affairs don’t use such simplistic
ridiculous metaphors to describe a sit
uation that isn’t even factual. At least
pretend to do the research.
Who is the bully and who is the
victim?
Jennifer Jackson
History
Analogy insensitive
I’ve been reading the ODE regularly
for 20-plus years now, and in that
time I’ve witnessed the perpetration
of some pretty micro-encephalic driv
el, particularly as it’s appeared (fre
quently) on the editorial page.
But Aaron Artman’s “Bittersweet
Memories” wins hands-down in the
realm of self-serving myopia.
Now I can ignore the slams at Eu
gene, for whom among us has not had
similar complaints at times (although
it’s difficult to understand how “slow
... non-aggressive drivers” can be per
ceived as negative)?
Yet when he writes about “[war] vet
erans [whom] would be hard-pressed to
look more haggard than I do when I re
turn to my parents home after too much
wintertime in Eugene,” I can only shake
my head in profound disbelief.
Even taking into account the igno
rance so common to youth and inex
perience, comparing the chilly dis
comfort of Oregon rain to the
boundless horror of war suggests a
disassociation from reality bordering
on the pathological.
Yes, yes, I know: it’s possible that
Artman was merely attempting to
write with tongue in cheek. Unfortu
nately, he only succeeded, in my opin
ion, in conveying the impression of
having some other part of his anatomy
placed in an entirely different location.
Bill Smee
Eugene
Election decision fair
Your editorial, entitled “Sore
Losers” (ODE, April 19) attempts to
justify some rather serious elections
violations with double-talk and mis
leading statistics.
What it comes down to is this: The
Wylie/Mitra ticket was in no way giv
en a mandate by the student body.
When only 1,600 students vote, no one
can truly claim a victory.
In a situation where only a small mi
nority of students choose to vote, elec
tions are decided by the ticket that can
marshal its support on short notice.
This opens the door for violations to
influence the election process and gives
a decided advantage to the Wylie/Mitra
ticket, with its unlimited access to the
residence halls’ captive audience.
If only 29 people had voted for a
ticket other than Wylie/Mitra, the
ASUO Executive would not have been
decide in the primaries and the elec
tion would have continued.
The Elections Board decision, the
Emerald claims, is contrary to the will
of the students. In actuality, it seems
to confirm this will.
I have been attending the University
long enough to have been, at first,
mildly amused, and as time passed, in
creasingly disgusted, by the students
we have continually chosen to repre
sent us.
It is no secret that past student ad
ministrations have been guilty of some
startling misunderstandings of politi
cal ethics. Attempts to subvert the po
litical process seem to be the stock in
trade of past ASUO administrations
so, hey, why not continue the trend?
Aaron Abrams
Political Science
Thumbs
To next year’s
winning season
The Oregon foot*
ball team is ex
pected to win the
nahonatchampi
onshlp next year,
now that the Mill
Camp is closed.
Go Ducks,
To the Street
Fain
Now that is with
an V and it start
ed Wednesday,
not Tuesday as
some rumors
suggested. It is
the 20th annual
faire at the Univer
sity, serving good
food andfun.
To computer
viruses
The Chernobyl
virusit comput
ers Monday on the
30th anniversary
of the Chernobyl
meltdown. The
virus knocked out
computers and
erased hard dri
To arming
Ringers
A man shot and
kitted one park
rangerand
wounded another
Tuesday near Sea
side. Although any
death is a tragedy,
the Legislature
should not con
sider arming park
rangers. Doing so
would do more
harm than good.