NEWSROOM:
(541)346-5511
E-MAIL
ode@ oregon. uoregon.edu
ON-LINE EDITION:
www.dailyemerald.com
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Ryan Frank
EDITORIAL EDITORS
KameronCole
Stefanie Knowlton
A CURE FOR THE
COMMENCEMENT BLUES
With tongue in cheek, Emerald grads long
for a prominent commencement speaker
Seniors have hit the com
mencement speaker jack
pot.
After years of pretending
not to care that other Oregon
public universities were receiv
ing their end-of-college pearls of
wisdom from the likes of presi
dents and noted civil-rights ac
tivists, the University will wel
come Robert Smith to campus.
That’s right, the lead singer of
the world famous band the Cure
will address the class of 1999 on
June 12.
Oh, a grand time will be had
by all. Here is graduation as the
Emerald editorial board envi
sions it.
First, after the prerequisite
prattle by University President
Dave Frohnmayer, the ASUO
president and assorted others,
Smith will take the stage.
Maybe he’ll be wearing the
hockey jersey he sported during
the 1996 tour. Or maybe he’ll
show up in something a bit more
goth. Not that it matters, as long
as the hair is sufficiently tousled
and the eyeliner is appropriately
smudged.
And then he’ll speak — that
droll British accent soothing our
fears about what to do with the
rest of our lives.
Finally, we’ll all stand up,
linking hands as Smith leads us
in an inspiring rendition of “Just
Like Heaven.”
Now that’s a graduation. Make
sure you have your lighters and
hankies ready, folks.
And you know what the best
part of this Robert Smith thing
is? He’s someone the graduating
class of 1999 can relate to or, at
the very least, recognize.
Let’s be frank, some of the Uni
versity’s past commencement
speakers haven’t really cashed in
on the prestige factor. And oh,
we know it’s wrong to covet, but
we can’t help but feel a tinge of
envy when we see the inspira
tional, idealistic and yes, we’ll
say it, famous addressing other
Oregon university graduates.
But at last we get ours. This
commencement may not be the
most sentimental or inspira
tional ceremony in history, but it
will damn sure be the coolest.
In case you haven’t figured it
out, this editorial has thus far
been an exercise in hyperbole,
sarcasm and fantasy.
Alas, neither Smith nor any
other members of the Cure will
make an appearance at this
year’s commencement ceremo
ny. The keynote address will ac
tually be delivered by Robert
Ellis Smith, who to the best of
our knowledge has never
been in a band. We’ll try not to
hold that against him, though.
Smith is a journalist, a scholar
and an expert on privacy issues;
not to mention, he is Frohnmay
er’s pal.
That’s all fine and great, but
we can’t help wishing that the
last graduating class of the mil
lennium could go out with a bit
more of a bang.
Putting this all in perspective,
we are probably just being bratty
college students. After all, com
mencement is about recognizing
several years of toil and sacrifice.
We should feel honored and
proud just to sit outside with our
fellow students and have our ac
complishments recognized.
Logically, we know all this to
be true. But there’s still that little
nagging voice inside us, the
voice that would like to receive
that last hit of inspiration from
someone we might actually
have heard of. wmmmmm
This editorial represents
the opinion of the Emerald editori
al board. Responses may be sent to
ode@oregon.uoregon.edu.
President to discuss state of UO with emphasis on diversity
i
Two weeks ago, I was stunned and
disgusted to read transcripts of e
mails exchanged in one of our
classes that contained language of
extraordinary hostility and disrespect.
So were many others.
The e-mails triggered student cries for
action on issues of diversity and safety.
They brought scores of concerned students
to my door. I spoke with them for hours
about personal experiences, hopes and
fears.
Mostly, I tried to listen. And I was
touched and impressed by what I heard.
Since then, I have continued listening, to
students, faculty members and staff talking
about the very real isolation they feel as
people from different backgrounds, talking
about the mistreatment they have endured
because of differences in race or gender or
belief.
It has become clear to me that these e
mails were not an isolated incident but
were symptomatic of much broader, tragi
cally common instances of intolerance. I
suspect that most of us are oblivious to the
expressions of bias I have heard about —
ranging from unthinking, insensitive com
ments and “jokes” to insults and threats —
because we have not lived life as a member
of a minority, have not felt the sting of ex
clusion the same way.
O rt__t...
The stories I have heard have taught me
again how far we must go to live up to our
own self-concept of a welcoming and ac
cepting learning community.
Many of the students who came to John
son Hall on the afternoon of May 18 under
lined the strength of their beliefs by choos
ing to stay after the building closed,
committing themselves to an act of peace
ful civil disobedience. After hours of talk
and deliberation, after hearing in detail
about the consequences of their action and
thinking about their options, those who
chose to be arrested were removed from the
building, cited and released.
While I did not agree with their choice of
action, I appreciate their willingness to put
themselves on the line to emphasize their
beliefs.
Let me tell you about some things we
have done and plan to do to address their
concerns.
Luckily, we are not starting from zero.
During the past five years, the University
has been devoting ever-greater resources
toward building campus diversity:
■ We have strongly supported and re
cently increased scholarships and other
support moneys for ethnic students. Our
Student Academic Affairs Office estimates
that scholarship dollars targeted specifical
ly toward building diversity at the Univer
sity will total in excess of $1 million during
the coming academic year. The fund for Di
versity Building Scholarships alone is
scheduled to double from this year’s
$280,000 level to more than $500,000 next
year.
■ We have dedicated more than
$300,000 per year
Commentary
Dave
to special efforts
devoted to attract
ing faculty of color.
During the four
academic years be
tween 1995-96 and 1998-99, more than one
in five of the new tenured and tenure-track
faculty hires made at the University were
faculty of color — 26 new hires out of 121
total over that period.
■ In the past week, spontaneous efforts
have begun throughout our University’s
schools and departments to address a basic
question: Are the ways we are teaching suf
ficient to embody the values and beliefs of
all of our students?
The events of the past two weeks have
accelerated an existing trajectory, provid
ing new energy and new commitment to
making our campus as welcoming and safe
as possible.
But much more needs to be done.
I am heartened by the level of intensity
shown by students who have initiated —
and are working with me, staff and faculty
members to implement — a number of new
initiatives, ranging from campus policies to
public statements, that go to file heart of
these problems. These projects are on a fast
track.
To keep the momentum going, I encour
age the entire campus to attend the regular
ly scheduled University Assembly Meeting
Wednesday at 3 p.m. in 150 Columbia.
At that meeting, I plan to forego my usu
al state of the University address and de
vote that time to an open discussion of di
versity issues. I invite all of our campus
members, faculty, staff and students alike
to attend and express themselves. At the
specific suggestion of our students and fac
ulty of color, I particularly encourage the
participation of those who might disagree
with what they see as our present course of
action.
We must, as always, work together to
build a campus that is equally accepting,
equally safe for everyone. It is not a job I
can do alone.
But I do pledge my personal efforts to
move this important work — important at
every campus across the nation, and im
portant here in Eugene — forward as quick
ly as possible.
I look forward to seeing many of you at
the Assembly Meeting on Wednesday.
Dave Frohnmayer is the University president.