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.