Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 13, 1999)
Editor ip chief: Laura Cadiz Editorial Editors: Bret Jacobson, Laura Lucas m t Newsroom: (541)346-5511 Room 300, Erb Memorial Union P.O. Box 3159, Eugene, OR 97403 E-mail: ode@oregon. uoregon.edu On-line edition: www.dailyemerald.com Freedom of Speech Succeeds Giovanni Salimena Emerald A graphic display in the EMU Amphitheater sparks debate without the use of • violence Let’s be frank here. Some times things disturb us. Sometimes things excite us. Sometimes they make us cry. And sometimes they make us happier than we could have ever imagined. Our responses to such stimuli are as unique as we are. The freedom to express our thoughts, feelings and ideas is a precious right the writers of the Constitution had the fore thought to commit to paper. It is, part pf the foundation of our 'countfy, the humanity inside • us. While those founding fathers probably envisioned people speaking out against an oppres sive government, they could never have imagined the recent ways in which the First Amendment has been applied: the right to publish nude pho tographs in magazines, the right to publish books on how to make bombs — even the right to associate abortion with the Holocaust, just as the Geno cide Awareness Project has been doing at the University since Monday, displaying pic tures of aborted fetuses. We’re not rehashing the issue of abortion or even free speech; you’ve heard the arguments be fore. We’re actually just pleased that the University community has held its poise so well. With^ew verbal as saults and no physical ones, the event at the University can be considered a success: It sparked debate. GAP has visited other uni versities. At the University of Kansas, one protester ran his car into the display. Others tore signs, and one man ended up punching a man from GAP. At Ohio State University, one pro tester was arrested after she charged at the display with a knife. Unlike people at other schools — where peaceful protest and calm discussion were not the norm — the stu dents and staff here have, if somewhat uncomfortably, proved that these principles can work. The letters to the editor in the Emerald this week are repre sentative of the discussion, and there will be more to come. Each has its own point of view. As for what happened at the EMU Amphitheater specifical ly, even when one side felt the other “misused” the First Amendment, the intrinsic beauty is that the amendment in its entirety and spirit is avail able for both opinions. In this, we have proved that no matter what someone ex presses, all sides can have their say. No one was really prevented from viewing the pictures or talking to the GAP representatives. The display was not tom down. Students in protest were allowed to turn their backs to the event in si lence. The peace says a lot about maturity and poise. It says that free speech can work. While the city of Eugene has decided to erect a free speech platform outside the Lane County Courthouse, wo at the University already have one right here. The Amphitheater has served, this week, as a per fect platform for constitutional rights. The right for a crowd to peaceably assemble. The right to free speech. This editorial represents the opinion of the Emerald editorial board. Responses may be sent to ode@oregon. uoregon. edu. Quoted “A population the size of Germany is being added to the world each year, which would be fine if it had the re sources of Ger many, but it does*' n’t" —Alex Marshall, UJM. Population Fund. MSNBC.com, Oct, 11. “When! hear the question ‘How many people can the earth support?' what I hear is ‘What level of envi ronmental degra dation and human suffering are we willing to put up with?’” — Brian Halweil, Worldwatch Insti tute. MSNBC.com, Oct. 11. “it always bugs me when people win awards and thank God. God could give a rat’s ass if you win an MTV award.” — Bill Maher, Po litically Incorrect^ Entertainment Weekly, Oct. 8. “We're looking for ward to the next step, which is get ting some players and really putting a name and a face on the new team.” —Sandi Bittler, vice president of Portland’s new WNBAfranchise. The Register Guard, Oct. 12. J CORRECTION “ The article “Consecutive '* protests sd&fcV debate’1 tfE&V Oct. have read: “ ASIJO Presi dent Wylie Chen said he supported the protest for the same reason.” The Emerald re grets the error.
