Editor in chief: Laura Cadiz
Editorial Editors: Bret Jacobson, Laura Lucas
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
TRUTH
and
■ ■■hile political corruption often
■nB seems to go unmolested, at
HH least there are consequences
■ V for University Senators who
do not follow the rules of their office.
On Wednesday, former Student
Senator Autumn DePoe filed a griev
ance against four summer-session
senators. DePoe claims summer-ses
sion Sens. C.J. Gabbe, Jereme Grzy
bowski, Spencer Hamlin and Jessica
Timpany did not hold their office
hours and, therefore, should not have
received their stipends. Each re
ceived his or her $25 per month
stipend over the summer.
All offending senators should pay
back their stipends, but no drastic ac
tions should be taken because history
has shown that far more serious ac
tions have received relatively minor
punishment.
While there are rules that explic
itly state that senators will not be
paid if they don’t hold office
hours in Eugene, there is a more
general guideline society already
has in place governing the rela
tionship of work to pay. For the
most part, it is a given that those
who do the work they agree to do
should receive pay, and those who
break a job commitment should
not get the agreed-upon sum.
ASUO President Wylie Chen ^
agreed, saying in the Nov. 5
Emerald, “Regardless of the rules, it
seems to fall in line with non-fulfill
ment in a job that requires them to be
accessible to students.”
While it may seem harsh to take
away the small amount of money the
senators received, the rules of society
must be held to politicians who serve
a given constituency. It’s the reason
former Oregon Sen. Bob Packwood
and former President Richard Nixon
were shamed out of office. Imagine a
place where politicians are not sup
posed to set the example for the rest of
their population. Everyone would be
lieve back-room deals and the perma
nent waffling on personal values are
acceptable.
Having the offenders repay the
money is the fairest and most reason
able method of setting things right
and putting the predicament behind
everyone as quickly as possible with
out going overboard.
But anything past repayment of
money by the others would be exces
sive.
It isn’t as if the senators were em
bezzling funds in a master plan to re
tire to Aruba. They didn’t hold office
hours and got about enough money to
buy dinner for one at a decent restau
rant. While there is no doubt they
need to pay the money back as a mat
ter of principle, there is no need
to further punish them and
possibly damage their rep
utations unnecessarily.
When examining the
punish
ment, or lack thereof, of a previous
senator, it is apparent that the offens
es of those not filling their office-hour
requirements are small by compari
son and should be dealt with as a mi
nor incident. Last year, Sen. Michael
Dixon was sentenced only to proba
tion by the courts after pleading
guilty to burglary and theft of Univer
sity property and received no punish
ment from the senate. After being sen
tenced to probation, community
service and fines, Dixon continued to
hold business seat No.
If Dixon was
al
lowed to remain after willfully break
ing the law and stealing from the Uni
versity, summer-session Senate Pres
ident Gabbe should definitely not be
removed for failing to keep office
hours himself or for failing to make
sure others were doing so. Making the
senators repay their stipends would
fall in line with the decision to give a
slap on the wrist and a second
chance.
This editorial represents the opinion of the Emerald edi
torial board. Responses may be sent to
ode@oregon.uoregon.edu.
Giovanni Salimena Emerald
Letters to the editor
Senators do more outside offices
I am writing the student body in re
gards to the devious attempt for char
acter assassination in the grievance
filed by an erratic student against cer
tain members of the Student Senate.
As a member of the summer senate
committee, I feel that this particular
grievance is a misguided attack on
hardworking, dedicated individuals
and on the integrity of the Student
Senate as a whole.
The complaint accuses these sena
tors of not being accessible to the stu
dent body by not holding regular of
fice hours. These senators are far
from not being there for the students
they represent. As a member of the
Student Senate, I can proudly say
that these individuals are proven
fighters to the needs of the student
body. This past summer (during
which the complaint is filed for)
these senators won tremendous vic
tories for the students here at the Uni
versity as well as for campuses
around the state. Winning the battles
to freeze tuition, keeping students on
the Oregon Health Plan and working
on campus diversity are just some ex
amples of what C.J. Gabbe, Jereme
Grzybowski, Spencer Hamlin and
Jessica Timpany have achieved.
These victories are far from a “non
fulfillment of duties.”
I am disheartened that a grievance
would be filed to impede the
progress of a committed group of in
dividuals who diligently work to pro
vide a positive and enjoyable campus
atmosphere for all students. So what
is more important, sitting in the EMU
or keeping all of us on the Oregon
Health Plan?
Andrew Schneider
student senator
Tandam Taxi: excellent alternative
I am writing in response to Mr.
Collier’s article on the necessity of
funding services like Saferide. While
I am in total agreement with his opin
ion, I would also like to point out that
in addition to Saferide, there is an
other excellent alternative called the
Tandem Taxi. The Tandem Taxi is a
program run through the University
to help ensure the safety of both
women and men at night through al
ternative transportation: biking. With
the Tandem Taxi, one can either
chose to ride and pedal on the tan
dem bike (a two-seater bike) or be
pulled along in the petty cab.
This is a great way to go short dis
tances around campus or anywhere
within a three mile radius, including
Ducks Village, The Commons and
Chase Village apartments. Plus, the
Tandem Taxi is really fun to ride, it’s
free and you get where you are going
quickly. The Tandem Taxi runs
every night Monday through Thurs
day from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. And then
again on Sunday from 7 p.m. to 11
p.m. The phone number is 346
TAXI. Like Saferide, the Tandem
Taxi is another great way to go safe
ty
Alyssa Aaby
biology
Thumbs
mia kept him in a
Maryland hospital
since Oct. 22.
To astonishing
forgiveness
Judy and Dennis
Shepard, the par
ents of slain gay
college student
Matthew Shepard,
brokered a deal
with convicted
killer Aaron McK
inney to spare the
young man the
possibility of the
death penalty. The
deal disallows any
appeals and en
sures the killer life
in prison.
To Kia car
carnage
A deputy Eugene
fire marshal said
that the intensity
and rapid speed of
fast month’s fire at
Kiefer’s Eugene
Kia automobile
dealership were
partially aided by
fire code viola
tions. The compa
ny did not have a
permit to do the
repair work and
auto detailing that
it performed.
To money up
in smoko
Health officials say
that almost one in
four adults
Smoked in 1997,
aboutthesameas
in 1990. Rates
among adults de
clined slightly, but
the smoking of
ages 18 to 24 in
creased to almost
29 percent.